Sick Muse
by CarmenMauri
Summary: WRITTEN BEFORE BACK NINE AIRED - Quinn and Puck have agreed to "play nice" now that the baby-daddy truth is out. Too bad there's a whole lot of UST standing in the way of them having a normal relationship...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

**A/N:** I wrote this prior to the back nine and published it on my blog. Now that the back nine have all aired and we know what happened with Quinn and Puck (seriously! They had next to no interaction. Le lame.), I've decided to publish this fic on fanfiction. This is my version of what should/could have happened.

Anyway, this is eight chapters long and I'll be publishing a chapter a day (just re-tweaking things... for the BILLIONTH time!). Hope you enjoy it and please, if you can, leave me a review. This is my first fic ever and I'm a bit self-conscious.

* * *

Noah Puckerman knew exactly what was wrong with the scene in front of him. He gaped in confusion as women practiced their breathing, holding their partner's hand for comfort. Among the throng of men and women, sat a blond beauty—a look of unease and mistrust etched on her porcelain face. It was a strange sight: McKinley's former head cheerleader sitting there amongst the pillows and strangers, breathing in and huffing out. It looked like she didn't get that that the key to Lamaze was to relax... Judging from the pained expression she currently wore, she was far from feeling at ease. (He knew he should be there with her.)

The class came to an end and people gathered their belongings. Quinn watched as the men and women started filing out the door and didn't stand to gather her things until they were all gone. Water bottle, shoes, jacket. Check, check, check. She hunched over to lift her heavy schoolbag, but a pair of hands got to it first. She recognized the person's hands before she even had the chance to look him in the eye—she'd seen those hands every day since pre-Kindergarten.

"Puck." She acknowledged, averting her green eyes from meeting his hazel ones. Shifting uncomfortably because of Puck's proximity to her, she turned towards the door. Puck rolled his eyes and followed. It was always this way with Quinn. She still hadn't quite gotten used to his presence (_Probably never will_, he thought honestly), but he knew that letting him help her had been a huge step for her. Not a day went by that he didn't blame himself for what Quinn was going through, and he'd do anything to be there for her. Hell, he would do anything if it meant that they could keep their little girl. He just wanted to be a good father and provider and it was lucky for him that Quinn had given in—letting him wear her down slowly and (_begrudgingly_) letting him into her life.

After the truth behind her little girl's paternity had been revealed (and Quinn's entire world had fallen apart), she had moved from Finn's house to Brittany's. She didn't quite like living with the spacey blond, but Brittany was a good friend, almost child-like in her kindness, and she had welcomed Quinn into her home with open arms. When Puck found out that Quinn had moved in with Brittany, he had insisted on Quinn moving in with his family, instead. He wanted to be there for her, take care of her, provide for her, live with her, be with... That is, he wanted to be involved in the little girl's life, Quinn kept reminding herself.

During one of his visits, their fight had gotten so heated that Brittany's parents had asked Puck to leave. The look on his face, worse than if she had slapped him, was ingrained in Quinn's mind. He looked like a lost puppy, not understanding what he could do to prove to Quinn that he was willing to make things work.

Puck was halfway out the door when something inside of Quinn told her that this would be the last time Puck would offer his help. She realized in that moment that without Puck, she would be left alone. As if controlled by someone else, Quinn shot up and ran to the door, pulling Puck in. As Puck looked into her eyes, he realized she was letting him see how frightened she felt, showing him that she trusted him. He pulled her into a hug and they stood at the door, Quinn's shoulders heaving in heavy sobs while Puck stroked her hair.

Since that night, Puck and Quinn had decided to "play nice", as he called it. They were having a kid (whether Quinn was happy with it or not) and they had to share the responsibility. Quinn had been unwilling at first (it was her kid, her mess, her choice), but ever since Puck had seen her eyes filled with terror, he hadn't left her side. He drove her and Brittany to school, drove her to doctor's appointments and drove her to Lamaze. He'd even offered to attend, but Quinn didn't want Puck in the room when she gave birth, so why bother?

Puck opened the passenger door for Quinn. "Thanks," she mumbled. He smiled to himself, thinking: _We're still monosyllabic, but at least she's letting me drive her around_. As they drove back to Brittany's, Quinn slowly turned to face him. There was something on her mind and she needed to make sure Puck got the message.

"Your mom still doesn't know, does she?" Puck's hands gripped the steering wheel a tiny bit tighter, but he lied calmly.

"Yeah," he scoffed. "I told her." He risked a glance in her direction only to see her raise her left eyebrow in disbelief. He rolled his eyes (Quinn scoffed in annoyance. _His eyes will get stuck that way if he's not careful._), sighed and confessed. "Okay. No. I haven't, but my mom's hardly ever home. Besides, you don't even want me in the room when she's born, so what do you care?"

Anger bubbled up in her chest. "Because you're lying to her," she spat. "I remember your mom from when we were growing up. Summers spent at your house while my parents went on holiday. Your mom was like my other mother and with you lying to her, I feel like I'm lying too." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring daggers out the window.

"Look, Fabray. My mom doesn't need to know, okay? She's busy. Besides, what's she gonna do? The truth won't do anything but make her stress more about me, you and, well, Finn." At the mention of Finn's name, Quinn whipped her head around. Noticing her reaction, Puck unsuccessfully tried to keep from rolling his eyes (_Yeah, get excited over Finn _Dumbson_'s name. It's not like it doesn't hurt._) and stared straight ahead, ignoring Quinn's gaze. "He hasn't been to the house since mid-December," he said hesitantly. "And I don't talk about him, so my mom's worried. She cares about him..." he finished with a shrug.

Quinn turned her gaze back to the passenger window, but she was no longer glaring. They stopped at a stoplight and she lightly touched his shoulder. He looked at her out the corner of his eye, his eyebrows rising skeptically, and he slowly turned his mohawked head to look at the pregnant teen at his side. "I'm sorry for trying to convince you. It's just, if I had had the chance to tell my parents sooner, well, maybe I wouldn't be an orphan right now."

"You're not an orphan," he smiled at her, shaking his head softly.

"I might as well be an orphan." Quinn insisted. "It's not like they care about me. To them I'm a prostitute." Puck winced at her words. "I just don't want your mom thinking I've ruined your life… Making you stress over a baby we're not going to keep..." she sounded almost as though she were pleading with him. Puck smiled sadly into her green eyes and put the car into drive. He considered what Quinn had said and realized she wasn't completely wrong. The sooner his mom knew about their little girl, the better. _Either I tell her or she finds out when Quinn pops, right?_

He smiled, risking a quick glance at Quinn as they drove on. "Hey, you wanna get some fries or a frostie?"

"Is your head egg-shaped?" Quinn answered and Puck could hear the smile in her voice. He rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his own lips as he looked at her. Quinn's mischievous smile grew wider as she nodded and with that, they made a U-Turn and headed back to the Wendy's two blocks down.

* * *

Later that night, Puck lay in bed worrying about his future and Quinn's. He mulled over Quinn's words, contemplating what would happen if he told his mom. He knew that Quinn was right, but he couldn't bring himself to heap more worry on her plate. He knew his little sister, Hannah, had been acting out in school (she was Puckerman through and through), but he worried that the news of Quinn's pregnancy would be too much for his old ma.

There was a quick knock on his door and Hannah bounced in, not waiting for a reply. She was in her soccer uniform, grass stains on her shins and jersey, but she was happy. "Hey, Noooo-ah!"

"Hey, how was the big game?" He asked, ruffling her hair. She shrugged.

"Was okay. I got into a fight." She announced proudly. Puck shook his head profusely.

"Hannah. I told you to cut that out." He whined, knowing that his mom was already stressed about bills, work, him... and now she had Hannah to worry about, too? "Did you get kicked out of the game?"

Hannah smirked. "Heck yes." But when she saw the look of annoyance on her older brother's face, she quickly added. "But mom doesn't know! She won't have to know… I won't tell."

"Hannah, it's not just about telling mom or not." Puck shook his head. He seemed to being doing that a lot since Hannah started acting out. He felt like a parent, already. Always worrying about his little sister, making sure she wasn't doing any of the dumb shit he and Finn (well, really, it was mostly him) used to do. If she was this much trouble at age nine, he could only imagine the premature grey hair he was bound to get during Hannah's teens. Puck shuddered internally. "How many games are you missing?"

"… Just one. Next week's." She didn't meet his eyes.

"That's an away game, Hannah! Mom will find out, since she's driving you all the way to Cleveland!" They heard the front door open. "Shit. She's home."

Hannah gaped at her brother. "You said a swear!" Puck merely rolled his eyes. He watched as she ran out of his room, mouthing along with her as she yelled out, "MOM!"

* * *

Quinn sat on the edge of the mattress, listening to Brittany go on and on about some mindless thing from school. Quinn tried to be as polite as possible, but when you're seven months pregnant, it's kind of hard paying attention to shit you don't really care about. She was more concerned with the ache she was experiencing just under her ribcage. She tried stretching, but couldn't get comfortable.

"Puck's still not talking to Finn," Brittany offered. Quinn stopped stretching and raised her eyebrows as if insisting that Brittany continue. "Well, they were practicing this new play and Puck got really annoyed because Finn wouldn't pass the ball. Finn's the captain and all, but Puck's their best shot at winning." Brittany shrugged. "Guess Finn's still pissed, huh?"

"What gave you that impression?" Quinn asked sarcastically. Seeing the look on Britanny's face, she plastered a sweet smile on her face and continued. "Well, he can be pissed for all I care." Quinn lied. "Besides, he's acting like a major baby." Brittany stared at Quinn's bulbous stomach, causing Quinn to shift self-consciously as she continued. "I mean, he has a right to be angry, but it'd be good for the entire team if scouts from universities came to check them out." _Maybe then I wouldn't feel so bad for ruining their lives… both he and Puck could just leave Lima forever and forget this ever happened._

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, Coach was so mad." She imitated Coach Tanaka's gruff voice. "'You're a team, guys. There's no I in team,'" Brittany cocked her head to the side. "Like… I know there's no I in team, but there is an M and an E… M-E... ME! Do you think that was on purpose?" With her head cocked like that and her mouth gaping open in excitement, Quinn was suddenly reminded of a dog. She bit her tongue; no need to insult the only friend she had left... again.

"Doubt it, Brit. Anyway, we should get to bed. Puck's picking us up at 6:45." Brittany groaned. "Or you can sleep in and walk to school…" Quinn offered, smirking.

"Nah, I'll take the car ride over the walk, thanks." She hopped to her feet, hugged Quinn tight and blew a kiss to her belly. "Night, angel." And with that, Quinn was left all alone.

She stretched out on her borrowed bed, gently pushing under her sore ribcage, wondering if the baby was uncomfortable.

As she stroked her stomach, Quinn's thoughts bounced off one another in her head. Would Puck tell his mom the truth? Would Puck and Finn ever go back to being friends? Would Finn ever talk to her again? Would her parents understand why she had behaved the way she did? Would she make up her mind about her little girl...? Would... Finn forgive her...?... _Yawn_. Would she... forgive... herself...?

And as she drifted to sleep, she thought one last thing before being engulfed by darkness… _I wonder if she's comfortable?_

* * *

**A/N:** I know it's fluffy, but what can I say? I'm a fan of fluff! :P Thanks for reading and chapter two will be up tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block._

* * *

Brittany sat in the back of Puck's Oldsmobile, her ponytail bobbing up and down as they made their way to school. She kept quiet, watching the trees and buildings they whizzed past.

Brittany was tired. Quinn had dragged her out of bed at 6:00 am, insisting that she hurry up. Puck would be there any moment and they had to be ready for him. It was one of Puck's rules: have coffee ready for him (black, no sugar), be at the door by 6:40 and Quinn always rode shotgun ("More room for the baby," Brittany was told, though she was sure that Puck was just looking for excuses to be closer to his baby-mama). She'd catch him sneaking glances at Quinn and he came up with the weirdest excuses to touch her. One morning, Quinn had shivered when she'd entered the old car. Puck had stared at her worriedly, asking, "You cold? Here." He'd grabbed her hand and put it on the heater, smiling a bit uncomfortably when Quinn glared at him.

It was weird seeing Puck behave so… _nicely_. When Puck dated Santana, the nicest thing he'd done was tell Santana she looked "Better with her clothes off." Santana had called her crying after that incident.

During their drives to school, Quinn and Puck were decent to one another, which made Brittany wonder how these two had gotten together in the first place. It was weird—the school's bad boy with the school's prude. Brittany just didn't… get it. But, she didn't mind. There were many things she didn't understand in life. Like, how is it that Santana was interested in Finn Hudson? The way she was going after him made Brittany uncomfortable. Wasn't there, like, a law saying you couldn't date an ex-friend's ex-boyfriend? Or maybe it was ex-friends don't share ex-boyfriends? Brittany shook her head. Whatever it was, she was sure Santana was going against the Frenemy Code. Lindsay Lohan would not be impressed. Besides, Brittany lived with Quinn. _Awkward_. She couldn't see how she could be a friend to both.

"Puck, you're driving too fast," Quinn snarled, pulling Brittany out of her thoughts.

"Relax, Fabray. It's just one light." Quinn inhaled deeply and Brittany knew that Quinn was pissed. A clenched jaw and narrowed green eyes meant that Quinn was ready to Hulk-out. Quinn wore this expression a lot when she tried explaining math to Brittany.

Puck glanced at Quinn and immediately decelerated. "There? Ya happy?" He asked with a smile. Quinn merely stared blankly back at him before she turned to look out the passenger window. Brittany was impressed. They really were working hard at being nice to one another. What was their deal?

* * *

Quinn walked towards glee club, holding her books protectively over her abdomen. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, knowing the route to the rehearsal room by heart, so she didn't see Rachel approach her.

"Quinn," Rachel smiled, optimistically searching Quinn's eyes. "Can I help you carry your books to class?"

Quinn glared at the brunette, wondering what the hell Rachel wanted. It wasn't that Quinn resented Rachel for telling Finn the truth (not that at all; she was grateful in a weird masochistic way that Rachel had intervened), but Rachel still grated on Quinn's fragile nerves. It must have been the clashing outfits she wore; contrasting colours and dissimilar patterns just looked… _odd_. Quinn felt as though her eyes were assaulted by Rachel's hideous wardrobe choices on a daily basis and now that she was preggo, she was even more intolerant of Rachel's style.

"No, thank you. I can manage just fine." Quinn answered, walking around Rachel. To her annoyance, Rachel continued following her.

"So, did you have a good Monday?" Rachel looked expectantly at Quinn. Since Quinn was intent on ignoring her, Rachel kept talking. "Anyway, I went shopping with my dads yesterday and I went to the Gap…" Quinn inhaled (_Count to ten, Quinn._), knowing that she would never be rid of the pest. Rachel kept yammering on about having gone into The Gap, some kids' store called "Wiggles and Me" and Macy's. She sounded nervous and Quinn found herself wondering why Rachel insisted on befriending her after all Quinn had put her through. "In any case I saw a really cute basinet in the Macy's at the Lima Mall and I was wondering if, maybe, you would like one as a gift?" Quinn had been lost in her own thoughts, but she'd caught the last part of Rachel's rambling. She stopped walking and wearily looked at Rachel.

"Rachel." Quinn stared at the other girl intently, willing her to get the message. _Leave me the _FUCK_ alone._

"Look, Quinn. I know that you're annoyed with me—the expression on your face is one that I'm used to getting from you, but..." Rachel steeled herself against Quinn's death-glare. Truth was she knew she was meddling in Quinn's life, but Rachel Berry was determined to make Quinn see. She set her jaw, stepping in front of Quinn. "Puck cares for you and that baby." Quinn's death-glare melted away and she shifted uncomfortably in front of Rachel.

"I know it's unrealistic for you to keep it, but you should at least consider every possible avenue. When my dads were looking to expand on their family, they considered every single one of their options... surrogacy, adoption, foster care... You should do the same. In fact, I'd be happy to help you with the research and fact-checking." She gave Quinn a shy smile, not knowing what Quinn's reaction would be.

Quinn sighed, studying Rachel's overeager face and was shocked to discover that she was serious about helping her.

"Thanks, Rachel." Quinn managed to stutter, smiling softly at the other girl. It was simple, really, but those two words were enough to light up Rachel's face. Quinn walked around Rachel, continuing on her route towards glee club.

Still beaming, Rachel walked alongside Quinn and couldn't help but ask, "So you'll get back to me on the basinet, right?"

Quinn instantly thought of Puck. Rachel was meddling, but Quinn hadn't really considered everything. Least of all what Puck wanted. It was still her baby and her choice, but it was no longer her mess alone. She needed to include Puck in at least some of the decision-making.

Turning to look at Rachel, Quinn nodded in response.

* * *

Glee club was divided.

It was obvious that Finn and Puck went to great lengths to avoid one another and New Directions tried staying out of the mess.

There were times when Finn would participate in Glee, but it would be only to veto a new number, laugh with either Rachel or Mr Schu or (_worst of all_) flirt with Santana. Quinn knew that they were no longer together, but it still… annoyed her to see him whore himself out like that. She knew that she'd been Finn's first steady girlfriend, so she didn't understand how he was literally jumping from one cheerleader to the next. _I am not jealous_, she would remind herself. _I'm only worried about his heart breaking or Santana getting pregnant_.

Most days Quinn would find herself watching Rachel as Finn openly flirted with Santana. Rachel was such an open book, wearing her thoughts and feelings on her face, that whenever Finn flirted with the Cheerio, Quinn knew that Rachel's heart was breaking. Quinn would never be so open about her emotions. Her parents had taught her that appearance determines your place in life and the image that you convey (be it that you're an overconfident cheerleader or an eager-to-please gleek) would determine that place in the world. There was something about Rachel's confidence in wearing her heart on her sleeve that intimidated Quinn and she often envied Rachel for her ability to do so.

Mr Schu walked in just then, music sheets in hand. He stopped, looking at all of them. Cocking his head to the side, he let out a deep sigh as he put his hands on his hips.

"Come on, guys! You've all been sitting in the exact same spots since January!"

No one made a move, all looking a bit shamefacedly, but defiant at the same time. Mr Schu shook his head.

"All right. I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. I'm _assigning_ your partners for the month." There was a collective gasp among the 12 glee clubbers. Mr. Schu pointed at Artie and scanned the rest of the room, landing on Kurt.

"Kurt and Artie," the boys exchanged a happy smile. "Matt and Brittany," Brittany and Matt high-fived one another over Quinn's protruding stomach. "Mercedes and Mike."

Mr. Schu smiled warily at Rachel. "Rachel and Quinn," Rachel gave Quinn a small smile. "Tina and Finn," both looked indifferent. "And, finally, Puck and Santana," Puck rolled his eyes and Santana scoffed loudly.

"From now until the end of the week I want to see you interact with one another. Do you understand?" He narrowed his eyes and all 12 members of New Directions nodded.

_Well this will be interesting_, Quinn thought bitterly.

* * *

Puck caught up with Quinn after glee club. Brittany was going over to Matt's house with Mike and Mercedes, so it would be Puck and Quinn... alone... in his car. Sure, he was looking forward to driving her home without Brittany. His time alone with Quinn was pretty limited, so he knew that moments like these were like scoring a game-winning touchdown: special, often leaving him feeling breathless. But he hated how awkward both he and Quinn became whenever they were alone. If their hands brushed, both would trip over their apologies. If their feet tapped, it would mean moments of profuse blushing. If they made eye-contact, it would be agony until one of them turned away. He dreaded the uncomfortable silence, which was only broken if one of them had a bone to pick, which, let's face it, was pretty frequent, given how often they argued with one another.

They walked to Puck's beat-up car in silence. He felt his heart hammering away in his chest and worried that Quinn would hear it. He chanced a glance at her and saw her biting her bottom lip thoughtfully. For a moment, Puck could only focus on Quinn's mouth. The image of her white teeth softly grazing her pink lip, pumping it in and out of her mouth sent his mind into a tailspin. He remembered what it was like kissing Quinn, the taste of strawberry lip gloss a very vivid memory to him still.

Quinn turned to look at him, her face quizzical. "What?" she snapped. _Do I have something on my face?_ She wiped her cheek self-consciously. "Do I have something on my face?"

Puck's defense mechanism kicked in. Smirking, he said, "Relax, Fabray. There's no gunk on your face." Quinn gave him a very patronizing smile.

"Oh, well why the hell were you staring at me like an idiot, hm?" She narrowed her green eyes menacingly. It was about the cutest thing Puck had ever seen and he couldn't help the smile from curving around his lips, spreading to his eyes. As his hazel eyes crinkled around the edges, Quinn's heart gave a huge leap. _Whoa, what just happened?_ she asked herself. She blinked, the hint of a smile dancing on her pink lips. She shook her head, scoffing out of habit and picked up her pace, waddling as fast as a seven-month pregnant teenager can, trying to hold back her smile. There was something about Puck's demeanor that never failed to make her feel happy. It was wrong and self-destructive, she knew that, but she couldn't help it.

When they reached the double-doors leading outside, Puck pushed one open, letting Quinn out before him. "Thanks," she mumbled. They stepped out into the crisp March evening together, both avoiding eye contact. Puck wasn't wearing a jacket and his t-shirt wasn't enough to buffer the cold air, yet he didn't even shiver. Quinn scoffed.

"Where's your jacket?"

"I don't need one. I'm bad-ass, Fabray." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"When you die of pneumonia, we'll see how tough you are." He looked at Quinn again and she quickly looked away. Puck mused over their predicament and let out a chuckle, _Awkward_. Quinn shot him another quizzical look and smiled to herself. _He's such an egg-head._

They reached Puck's car and, again, he opened the door for her. Quinn slipped inside, mumbling her thanks once more, still awkwardly avoiding his gaze. It amazed her that she and Puck had to start over again almost twice a day (when he picked her up and during their drive home... times during which the distance between them was quite small). She knew she was uncomfortable around him and could feel the discomfort radiating from his body, too; their individual discomfort feeding the others'. There was so much tension between them that Quinn often wondered why she had agreed to "play nice" with him. _There has to be a less awkward way of getting to and from school._

Once both of them were buckled in, Puck cleared his throat and smiled at Quinn.

"Ready?" Quinn nodded, offering him a tiny smile of her own.

"So, do you know when you and Berry will get together to work on your assignments for glee?" Puck asked as he turned the steering wheel between his hands, the muscles in his forearm flexing in the process. Quinn was hypnotized and had to blink before she could answer.

"Uh... No." She cleared her own throat. _What is wrong with me? Must be the pregnancy hormones kicking in. Has Puck always smelled this good?_ She stared ahead, trying hard not to focus on Puck's arms again. She scoffed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "She'll probably call me tonight and see if we can discuss dance numbers and outfits."

"Yeah, she's... pretty gung-ho about glee club. Then again, it's her whole life." Puck said in a mocking voice.

Quinn smirked. "Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy glee, but my life doesn't revolve around turns and high notes. I've got bigger issues." She looked down at her pregnant stomach and laughed, some of the tension she felt easing out of her body as she laughed over her choice of words. Puck soon joined in, mostly laughing because Quinn's laughter was contagious, as though someone was tickling the inside of his belly. _That doesn't make me gay._

They stopped at a red light and Puck turned to look at her, his left forefinger stroking his bottom lip contemplatively. Quinn's smile died on her lips and she licked them self-consciously, unable to look away from Puck's steady gaze.

A honk from the car just behind them broke the tension and both teens guiltily looked away; Puck shifted his gaze forward, while Quinn focused on the nail salon's neon sign.

Puck put the car in gear. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going!" Puck said, angrily waving his right hand at the driver. "Punk."

"Temper, temper, Noah." Quinn smirked.

Hearing her use his first name instead of 'Puck' was a bit grating, but he couldn't help a smile from forming on his face. Truth was, he hated his first name and couldn't stand it when people (especially girls) called him 'Noah'. _Noah isn't a badass name. _Yet there was something in the way that Quinn said it that didn't irk him. Truth was, Quinn only called him Noah because she knew how much he hated it. Ever since they were playing in the sandbox, he wouldn't answer to "Noah", arguing that only his mom and baby sister were allowed to call him that.

Quinn was still looking out her window, but she glanced at him for a brief moment to gauge his reaction to her calling him Noah. She grinned when she saw his smile, loving that she knew him well enough to tease him about his name. Her cell phone rang just then, bringing her back to the present, and she dug through her backpack to find it.

"Hello?" Her smile turned into a grimace when she heard Rachel Berry on the other end. "Listen, Rachel, I won't be able to rehearse today… No, I won't be able to discuss potential song selections, either… Uh-huh… Oh… hm… okay…" Puck turned to look at Quinn and she rolled her eyes. "All right. I'll stay late tomorrow. Fine. Bye." She clicked her phone shut and looked straight ahead.

"You don't need a ride after school tomorrow?" Puck asked nonchalantly.

"Hm? Oh, um… no. I'm staying late tomorrow to go over glee stuff with Rachel." Quinnn answered, surprised by how disappointed she sounded.

"Will you need me to come back for you?" Puck asked.

"No, but thanks." Quinn answered, smiling only with her mouth. _Why does this make me feel sad? Who cares if Puck doesn't drive me home tomorrow?_

Puck pulled up to Brittany's house and Quinn started gathering her things. Acting the part of a perfect gentleman, he climbed out of the car, walking around the front to open the passenger door for her. As she started climbing out, however, she somehow lost her footing. It was lucky for both of them that Puck caught her around the waist just in time, their faces falling mere inches apart. He held her there for what felt like an eternity, until Quinn pulled away.

"Thanks," she smiled, the blush on her cheeks darkening. She straightened herself up.

"No problem," he smirked, his own cheeks red. "Pick you up at 6:40?"

"I'll make sure Brit and I are waiting… coffee in hand," Quinn joked. She climbed the steps to the door and turned to look back at Puck. He leaned against his beat-up car, hands in his pockets and a dazed smile on his face. He waved and Quinn went inside the house.

As she leaned against the door, Quinn tried to rationalize the fluttering in her tummy that Puck caused. _Maybe I didn't eat enough at lunch? No… I've felt these_ butterflies _before. _She gagged mentally at the word. It was hard for her to think, let alone understand why Puck had this new effect on her… _Or have I always reacted this way?_ She panicked. _No, no, no… I cannot have a... thing for Puck. No, it had to have been something I ate. Or, maybe the baby's restless._ She nodded frantically, already considering the case closed. _Yep. That's it. The baby's restless._

She hugged her abdomen, letting out the breath she'd been holding since thinking of Puck and his correlation to the butterflies that seemed to have made her stomach their permanent residence. She stepped away from the door and walked to her room, choosing to think of what tomorrow meant: Math class in the morning, Spanish before lunch, strawberry cheesecake for dessert and after-school rehearsals with Man-Hands. _How Fun._

Thing was, Quinn wasn't ready to admit that Puck seemed to lurk wherever her thoughts took her. He was sitting beside her in math, walked with her to Spanish, brought her strawberry cheesecake from home and hung around waiting for her after school.

_But t__hat's totally normal_, thought the Queen of Denial.


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN:_** Thanks so much to all those who reviewed, favourited or added this story to their alerts. You're lovely! This chapter was a lot of fun to write, but I feel like it fluctuated between funny and angsty and fluffy a little too much, making it seem unbalanced. Hopefully it won't annoy you guys... Let me know if it does. Even though I wrote this months ago, I still want to know if there are areas in which I can improve.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

Puck sat on the gym bench, listening to Coach Tanaka yammer on about their game against Carmel in two weeks. He was bored out of his mind, watching as Coach's spittle landed on his black Adidas shirt (his bulbous belly rising and shrinking with every sentence), his bright blue short shorts clinging to his thighs. It was hard to take the coach seriously most times, but when he was angry, it was best to stay quiet. Coach wasn't against physically assaulting his players if the time called for it.

"After we were defeated, again, by the school for the deaf last week, we have to win the next game against the Carmel Rams," he berated them as he walked. "Now, I want you to work harder, concentrate and," he turned to Finn, "pass... the... ball! We're a team, Hudson." Coach Tanaka bent down to be at eye-level with the basketball captain. "I don't want any more of your attitude. Got me?"

Finn scowled at no one in particular, obviously annoyed by his coach's remark. Coach rose to his full height and walked to the other end of the bleachers. Finn glanced at Puck and muttered, "Guess it would be easier to believe in the team if there weren't so many backstabbers on it."

The jocks all gave a sharp intake of breath ("That's cold!") and Puck's nonchalant expression quickly transformed to show his incredulity. He rolled his eyes and both he and Finn stood, preparing for a fight. Coach was between them in a heartbeat.

"This is not the time or place. Sit down." When neither of them made a move to sit, Coach pushed them down by their shoulders, forcing their behinds back onto the wooden bench. "All right, practice is over. Hit the showers… Except you two." He added, pointing at both teens. The rest of the team reluctantly left the gym. They wanted to be present when the fight between the former friends broke out.

"Keep walking, gentlemen. Azemio, I told you to keep walking," the coach hollered at his players. "Ellis, do you speak English? Yeah? Well then get out of my gym. NOW!"

Puck watched Finn, who sat with his hands between his knees, glare at the players as Coach pushed them out of the gym. It was unusual for Finn to be so angry. This was the guy who was more like Andre the Giant than Frankenstein. The guy who smiled during uncomfortable situations. Now he was the guy who kicked over chairs and had a permanent scowl on his face. Puck turned his attention from Finn to the coach. He smirked when he saw the coach yank Ellis by the jersey, shoving him forcefully back into the locker room. _Idiot._

Puck leaned back on the bench, supporting his body weight on his hands. He was beat. Coach had made them do burpees in addition to the usual 20 laps around the gym. His entire body was killing him; his pecs felt like they were on fire, his arms felt like rubber and he knew that walking would be near impossible for the rest of the week. He straightened up once he saw that the coach was on his way back.

"Gentlemen." Coach placed his hands on his hips. "I see that you two are having a bit of trouble seeing eye-to-eye. I have no qualms with you hating one another's guts, but I don't want it to affect our chances at State."

"Coach..." Finn began, but Coach just raised a hand to silence him. He raised his eyebrows and continued.

"Puckerman is our best player, Hudson. I don't care if you like it or not. So, unless you want me to relieve you of your captaincy, I suggest you start acting more like a team player." Puck smiled to himself._ That's right little bitch. I'm better than you for once in my life. Suck it._

Finn clenched his jaw, yanking his water bottle off of the bench, and stalked out of the gym, forcefully pushing the shower room doors open, creating an echo that bounced off the walls in the gym. Coach turned to look at Puck and nodded once to show that their little meeting was over. He pulled his pants up, revealing more of his thigh, and walked to his office. Puck watched his coach leave the gym, indifference etched on his face, before peeling himself slowly off of the bench. He walked to his gym locker, already deciding he would shower at home. There was no way Puck was going to risk being in the shower room alone with Finn. He knew that he could take him (sure, Finn was big, but he didn't have much fighting experience. _Hell, I'm the one in the fight club_, he thought with a smirk), but he wasn't about to prove it. Puck knew that what he and Quinn had done to his former friend had been terrible, but he just didn't get how an understanding and all-around nice guy like Finn wouldn't just get over it. It had been four months. _Talk about holding a grudge._

Puck grabbed his clothes and bags from his locker and walked straight to the main hallway, hoping to catch up to Quinn and give her a ride home. He walked to the choir room, saw that the lights were off and headed to her locker, instead.

Puck took out his cell and text Quinn.

**You still here?**

Moments later, Quinn responded.

**Yeah, we're in the cafeteria. I was hungry.**

Puck smiled to himself. There was nothing cuter than Quinn's psychotic food cravings: chocolate dipped pickles and bananas covered in orange jam were now normal snack choices for her.

He text Quinn, again.

**Great. Do you need a ride?**

He pursed his lips, shaking his head at the memory of Finn's anger. Why couldn't the dumbass just get over it? His phone beeped with Quinn's reply.

**No thanks. Rachel offered me a ride.**

Puck sighed and walked to the exit, still wearing his sweaty clothes from practice.

* * *

Quinn sat across from Rachel in the cafeteria, biting into a potato chip and taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. It was a strange mix, but Quinn wanted something sweet and salty and, since the cafeteria was closed, she had no other choice than to eat chips and a candy bar.

Rachel watched her, smiling uncomfortably, a look of disgust creeping on her face every so often. She cleared her throat and stared at her notebook.

"Okay Quinn. We've narrowed it down to two songs: Dionne Warwick's 'Heartbreaker' and Leona Lewis' 'Bleeding Love'," Quinn nodding as she chewed. "To be perfectly frank," Rachel continued, "I really don't think that Dionne Warwick is a very good choice. For one, this song is antiquated and second, a song by Leona Lewis will be much more accessible given our fellow glee clubbers' limited musical knowledge and taste."

Quinn was mid-chew when Rachel started to veto her song selection. She swallowed, glared at the other girl and said, "Rachel, why does everything have to be about you?" Rachel was caught off-guard, her mouth popping open in surprise. Quinn continued, "The world does not revolve around Rachel Berry. And what do you know about Dionne Warwick when most of your music knowledge comes from Broadway?"

Quinn stuffed her face with more chips, biting down on her Hershey's chocolate bar again. She wanted to intimidate Rachel, but looked more like a chipmunk, instead.

Rachel's huge brown eyes were perfect circles of surprise. She swallowed hard and smiled, "You're right, Quinn. I shouldn't be so bossy." The smile left her face and she raised one of her eyebrows. "But please don't bite my head off like that. I understand that you're stressed out and unhappy and confused and alone, but I do have musical knowledge." Rachel tapped her fingers on the table and bit her lower lip, avoiding Quinn's eyes. Just then, her face lit up and she smiled excitedly. "I've got it! As a compromise, we can do a mash-up of these two songs. You'll sing the 'Heartbreaker' parts and I'll sing 'Bleeding Love'. How does that sound?"

Quinn raised her left eyebrow, contemplating Rachel's compromise.

"Deal."

"Perfect!" Rachel hugged Quinn and the other girl tensed. _Jeez, what is with Rachel? She gets too excited too fast._ When Rachel finally released Quinn from her tight embrace, Quinn blinked several times, her face showing her discomfort. Rachel, however, looked ecstatic and had tears in her brown eyes. _Uh-oh… I sense a Hallmark movie moment_, Quinn panicked.

"Quinn," Rachel began, grabbing Quinn's hands in her small ones. "I want to say that I'm so glad we're finally friends." Rachel smiled (_She thinks we're friends?_). "After the rough times we've had since I moved here from Connecticut with my two dads in grade three and you told everyone in our class to ignore me if they wanted to save themselves from fire and brimstone in the after-life," Quinn smirked, but Rachel kept talking, oblivious to Quinn's reaction. "I can safely say that I treasure our friendship." Quinn looked guilty and the expression on her face softened. She looked down at her hands, her long eyelashes hiding her shame.

Rachel continued. "I know I'm selfish and bossy and grating and too ambitious, often ignoring everyone in my life, but I know that I'm also kind and loyal and willing to admit when I've done wrong. So," there was a slight catch in Rachel's voice. "I'm sorry."

It felt like an eternity before Quinn looked up, her eyes full of guilt. She swallowed and smiled at Rachel.

"No, Rachel. I'm the one who's sorry." Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but Quinn silenced her with a smile. "I've made your life in Lima a nightmare. I spread rumours about you, coerced people into ignoring you and relished every one of the slushie facials Puck gave you."

Rachel tightened her grip on Quinn's hands. "I understand why you did it, Quinn. Your family's background is even more conservative than the Bush family's." The girls shared another smile. Quinn remembered all of the times she and Santana had called Rachel a tranny. Or the times she bad-mouthed Rachel to Finn in the hopes of making his "crush" on her evaporate. Though, the more Quinn thought about it, the more she realized that Finn's feelings for Rachel were deeper than a schoolboy crush: his smile was wider, his eyes more tender and his overall disposition was happier when he was with Rachel. Realization dawned on Quinn: ever since the third grade, Quinn had always seen Rachel as competition. It was because of that knowledge, knowledge that Quinn had managed bury deep inside, that she had clung to Finn.

Looking at Rachel, a girl whose emotions were proudly put on display like a work of art, fluctuating from supreme bliss to the depths of despair, Quinn realized that she could learn from her. If she envied Rachel's ability to be so open and free, shouldn't she at least try emulating Rachel's disposition?

"I never loved Finn," Quinn confessed, breaking the silence. She looked at her hands in Rachel's hands, wondering why she didn't pull away. Looking up at Rachel, Quinn saw that Rachel's face showed understanding and empathy. _How can she look at me like that when I've been so terrible to her?_ Quinn pressed her lips together in the hope of keeping the tears at bay. "I saw him as my key to success in high school. You know, my parents were homecoming King and Queen when they were in their sophomore year here at McKinley. They always pressured me about being popular—stressing how it helped them get ahead in life." Quinn laughed mirthlessly. "I think my popularity was the one thing that they truly prided themselves on and without Finn, I was scared that I wouldn't have that approval or affection."

Quinn bit down on her lips, her eyes brimming with shiny new tears.

This was a rare moment for both girls; one had never had a real friend who trusted her with their secrets, while the other, more popular girl, never trusted anyone. Both were taught to fend for themselves and be independent, but 16 year-olds have the right to lean on others and the kinship that they found in one another was to be expected.

The girls stayed quiet, both wondering how their relationship had taken this turn after the events that happened in December, when Rachel's love for Finn, her first and only friend, combined with her romantic ulterior motives had led her to reveal Quinn and Puck's dreaded secret. If Quinn had never loved Finn, the fact that she'd slept with Noah made better sense. But it still didn't explain why the President of the Celibacy Club had lost her virginity to the Jewish playboy. Worrying her lip nervously, Rachel took a deep breath.

"Why did you sleep with Puck?" Rachel's direct question startled Quinn. She pursed her lips, contemplating how she could answer Rachel's question truthfully. No one had ever asked her that and she had never had the courage to be honest with herself in that respect, either.

Quinn sighed, her breath catching in her chest when she realized she didn't quite know how to answer her... didn't know if she wanted to, either. She exhaled slowly, a mirthless smile creeping on her face, as she thought back to that evening in early August.

_If I'm being honest, I guess I never would have had sex with Puck if three things hadn't happened:_

_1) Mom and dad hadn't gone to visit my sister Kate last summer, leaving me home alone._

_2) Santana, Brittany and Finn hadn't ditched me for "family time"._

_3) I hadn't run into Puck that day._

_I was running out of food for the week, so I went grocery shopping. I saw Puck almost as soon as I entered the store. Since he constantly insulted Finn whenever he saw me, annoying me to no end, I avoided him. Puck was Finn's best friend, but he was an asshole. He loved pissing me off and would do anything to make me angry._

_It seems that he hadn't seen me and, after he'd grabbed the fabric softener from the rack, he bee-lined for the checkout. I was in no hurry, so I browsed through the fruits and veggies, checking over my shoulder every so often to make sure that Puck was in fact leaving._

_When I couldn't see him anywhere in the store anymore, I made my way to the check-out._

_"Hey, Fabray," came a deep voice from behind me. "Fancy bumpin' into you at the Quick-N-Go." I slowly turned, my face already twisted into a condescending smile._

_"Hello, Puck." He smiled, revealing his white teeth._

_"You need a ride home?" He asked, motioning to my shopping bags._

_"No thank you," I replied, avoiding his hands as he reached out to grab my bags. I kept walking, but Puck was right behind me the whole time._

_"So, have you heard from your loser boyfriend? He emailed me the other day about really missing you." Puck grinned, laughing to himself about Finn. "He wanted me to make sure you weren't too bored now that your worshippers are gone."_

_"Worshippers?" I asked, my bags weighing heavily in my arms._

_"Yeah, Satan and Bitch are gone... Finn's gone. Hell, do you have any friends?" He jumped on my car's trunk, smirking at me as I rummaged through my purse for my keys. I shot him a glare, setting my bags on the concrete. Finally fishing out my keys, I was thankful that I would be leaving Puck soon._

_"Leave me alone," I stressed. He jumped off the trunk, took my keys from my hands and popped it open for me. He put the shopping bags in and tossed the keys back in my direction._

_"Guess you won't need a ride," he smiled. For a moment, I saw something in his smile that looked like regret. His eyes were soft and the shadow of a smile on his lips. "I'll see you around, Quinn." He backed away from me, leaving me completely confused. Biting my lower lip, I thought about what he'd said._

_I didn't have too many friends. Being popular, you have a select group of people you hang out with. Finn, Santana and Brit were gone... all of the other Cheerios were too dumb (dumber than Brittany, if you can imagine) for me to bother with... Puck really was my best choice. I sighed, deciding to swallow my pride for the sake of not spending another dull evening alone._

_"Puck!" I called out to the plaid-wearing figure five cars away. He turned, his usual smirk in place._

_"Yes, Quinnie?" he called back, his hand cupped over his left ear, as though he couldn't hear me._

_"Come here!"_

_"I'm sorry?" he strained, motioning to his ears and shaking his head._

_"COME HERE!" I practically yelled. He made an "O"-shape with his lips and jogged back to my car, casting a lopsided grin in my direction. God, he was such a smart-ass!_

_"Finn's right. I am pretty bored. We're going swimming." I informed him._

_"Excuse me?" Puck scoffed. "I am not going swimming. None of the public swimming pools in Lima are up to my standards of cleanliness." I rolled my eyes._

_"Well, what pools do you approve of?" I glared at him, regretting my decision._

_"Your family owns a pool, Fabray," I shook my head. "I would clean it before-hand, free of charge," he smiled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I shook my head again, setting my jaw and glaring at him. Even spending ten minutes with him was exhausting. Ever since we hit puberty, Puck felt the need to act like a pig. I mouthed 'No,' and he shrugged._

_"Well, then you can kiss your idea buh-bye," he shrugged, already turning on his heel._

_Damn my need for social interaction! Since when did I need people?_

_"Fine," I relented, shaking my head in annoyance at my weakness. "But you're not cleaning my pool. We have our own pool cleaner." Puck rolled his eyes._

_"Fine. I'll meet you at your place around 7:00?"_

_I climbed into my car. "Sure," I said over my shoulder. He waved as I drove away and I found myself wondering why I even wanted to hang out with him in the first place. We weren't what you would call friends. It was more that we were forced into the same social situations given that we had mutual friends. I mean, Puck and I had been close in elementary, but he pulled away in grade six. He started drinking and chewing tobacco, often skipping class. The only person he talked to was Finn, but he avoided me. If I'm being honest, it hurt at first, but I soon got used to our new relationship. When he started dating Lima's _finest_ (gag) teenage girls, I'll admit that it sometimes hurt that he ignored me. I was popular with guys and I always wondered why Puck never approached me on Thursday to make plans for a Saturday night date._

_... Not that I cared._

_Puck arrived at my house, bringing wine coolers and beer that some college guys had bought for him at the 7-Eleven. I was in my bathing suit, a red and white bikini that my mother had insisted I buy for the summer. _Pretty girls flaunt their bodies, Quinnie_, she had told me the day I bought it._

_If I'm being honest, I liked the way Puck kept looking at me as we splashed one another in the pool. Soon, Puck cracked open the beers and wine coolers, throwing a few flirty smiles in my direction. It was the first time we'd hung out one-on-one in years. Normally, we'd be surrounded by tons of people—the football team, the Cheerios squad, people that were cool by association. Being alone with Puck, near-naked and inebriated by the alcohol, he didn't seem as crass as he usually did. His lopsided grins, which normally reminded me of the asshole he was, put a spell on me. His deep voice, which often intimidated me, made me hang on his every word. He made me laugh, told me about his sister Hannah and listened to me bitch and moan about Finn and Cheerios. He didn't complain once._

"_And now," I laughed. "Ms Sylvester has called for a practice this coming Wednesday! Ugh. Have one lousy weigh-in and the world thinks you're a heifer." My lips quivered, remembering what Coach had said, _"Q, do you even care if people can hold you up? Or do you think you're so high and mighty that you'll just float to the top of the pyramid? I have news for you, Virgin Mary, unless you lose those 3 pounds, you can forget about the Cheerios captaincy! Don't disappoint me!"

_Puck stared at me, his face full of tenderness, a smile growing on his face._

"_You know you're perfect, right?" He asked, brushing a loose curl out of my face. "Sylvester wishes she was you, Quinn. That, and I'm pretty convinced she's the anti-Christ, so…"_

_I smiled at Puck and I doubted the existence of my legs—rather than feeling solid, as though my body was firmly on the ground, my legs felt felt numb and tingly. I was thankful we weren't swimming anymore but were sitting by the side of my family's pool, stargazing and talking, instead. Puck looked at me and got up. He helped me to my feet and laughed at the way I teetered before him._

"_Jesus, Fabray. You can_not_ hold your liquor."_

"_Don't use the Lord's name in vain," I scolded, unable to stop from laughing when I saw his eyes roll. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my shoulders as we walked inside._

_If I'm being honest, I really didn't have that much to drink. I'd drunk before at parties and I knew my limit was three. That night with Puck, I only drank two wine coolers, but it was enough to make me ooze with confidence, every sip of that wine cooler making my feelings for Puck surface. Warming my stomach with a nervous energy I couldn't quite place._

_If I'm being honest, I saw how his hands—hands I'd seen every day since pre-Kindergarten—helped steady me as we went up the stairs. Anchoring my body against his as we climbed up to my room. If I'm being honest, I noticed how his arms—arms I'd ignored every day since junior high—were tanned and sinewy. If I'm being honest, I breathed him deep—his scent making me weak in the knees—savouring the combination of chlorine and a fresh mowed lawn. If I'm being honest, I couldn't look away from his eyes—for once letting myself notice the golden flecks around his pupils—as he said 'good night, Quinn' while he tucked me in. If I'm being honest, I was drawn to his lips—slightly parted, practically taunting me—inches away from my own. Being that close to him, with these often ignored feelings making themselves known, I shortened the distance between our mouths and placed my lips on his._

_If I'm being honest, I made the first move._

_I knew he was caught off-guard, but he kissed me back. He pulled away, his eyebrows stitching together in confusion. He looked into my eyes, gauging my reaction, and kissed me again. I deepened our kiss, opening my mouth to trace my tongue over his bottom lip, coaxing his mouth open. I slid my tongue inside his mouth and he eagerly kissed me back. He sucked on my bottom lip, his teeth slightly nibbling my flesh. I breathed him in, a sigh catching in my throat._

_He lay on top of me and we continued making out. My hands greedily pulled his face closer to mine, while his hands tenderly stroked my hair, combing the blond strands carefully. He kissed me along my neck, his tongue grazing my jaw line. My breath was getting more rushed and I soon felt the tightening in his swimming trunks against my thigh. We were both damp from the evening spent swimming, our hair sticking to our foreheads._

_It all happened so fast. We were kissing one another one minute, and then he was gently thrusting inside me, wiping the few tears that escaped, the next. _

_I was annoyed with Puck, but hated myself for betraying Finn. So, obviously, I lashed out at Puck. It was easier to blame him than accept the fact I'd chosen him. And as soon as it was over, I yelled at him to leave. If I'm being honest, I just couldn't bring myself to acknowledge that my feelings for him were there, making themselves known because of alcohol._

_If I'm being honest, I'm not always honest._

Quinn swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. Having realized that the night's events were mostly her doing and not, as she'd proclaimed, because of Puck, greatly affected her. If she were honest with herself, she would realize that the butterflies, the tension, the night of her little girl's conception all added to one simple fact.

Having been inspired by Rachel's ability to be open with her emotions, Quinn finally admitted the one truth that scared her into denial.

"I guess I kind of love him," she said softly.

Rachel smiled at Quinn again. She knew that this was probably the first time that Quinn had allowed herself to admit the extent of her feelings for Puck. She knew what it felt like to be Quinn (ostracized, ridiculed and alone) and knew that getting up in the morning was difficult. Quinn was brave.

Rachel Berry knew that she was selfish, bossy, grating and often neglected others in her life to achieve her goals, but… she also knew when people needed help and in that moment, Rachel knew that Quinn was practically begging for her assistance. (Quinn may not have said it outright, but Rachel is psychic, after all.)

"Quinn," Rachel started. "Do you want to keep the baby?" Quinn blinked but couldn't bring herself to answer. She'd already been too honest with Rachel and she was still unsure about how she felt about the baby growing inside her. The tears in her eyes overflowed and Rachel pulled her in for another hug, whispering, "It's going to be fine," over and over again as she rubbed her back.

Quinn had heard these words many times before, but this time, she actually believed them.

* * *

Puck pulled up to his house, swinging his backpack over his left shoulder and dragging his gym bag along. He was beat. Coach was a real dick for making them work so hard today, but Puck was overjoyed that he was McKinley's star player. _'Bout time I get some recognition. Finn was the glory whore for so long. _He reached his front door and swung the door open.

"I'm home!" he called out, throwing his stuff on the linoleum.

The lights in the living room turned on. "Hello, Noah." His mom greeted him, her voice barely audible. She was sitting alone in the living room, her hands clasped together. It wasn't late, so it wasn't like Puck was breaking his curfew.

"What's up," he asked, confusion showing in all of his features. _Okay, mom's home early and was sitting in the living room waiting for me. Shit. This reeks of trouble._ As Puck rushed through his laundry list of recent exploits, his mom motioned for him to sit with her in the living room. Once her son was settled, she grabbed his right hand in both of hers. Puck looked at his mom, noticing the tears pooling in her deep brown eyes.

"Mom, what's up?"

"I ran into Mrs. Hudson at the grocery store this morning before work." A lightbulb went off in Puck's head and he averted his eyes; he couldn't bear to look her in the eye anymore. Quinn had warned him to tell her and now it was too late. His mom knew and now the only person in the world who believed in him, trusted him and truly loved him, was disappointed in him. "Is there anything you want to tell me… about you… about Finn," she tried looking Puck in the eyes. "…About Quinn?"

Puck's calm face contorted, but he couldn't bring himself to cry. He hadn't cried since the night his dad left nine years ago and he sure as hell wasn't going to cry tonight. He swallowed hard, gathering all of his broken courage, and looked into his tired mother's eyes.

"Quinn's pregnant," he said. Though she knew the truth, his mother still gasped in surprise. It was as though she had allowed herself to doubt until her son confessed. "And I'm the father," he finished, his tone a bit defiant.

With those four simple words, his mother crumpled in her chair and wept uncontrollably. Puck stroked her weathered hands, knowing that nothing he said would make things better. And though his hazel eyes were dry, Puck couldn't help the lump from forming in his throat or the weight bearing down on his chest at the knowledge that he had hurt the one person in his life that had a good opinion of him.

* * *

**_AN:_** Hopefully you all liked this chapter! I always like writing flashback-type stuff! If you can, please leave me a review. :) oh, and if you're lucky, I might have Chapter Four up by Saturday evening! WOOT.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ I wanted to thank you guys for reading and reviewing! I wrote this story back in March and I'm surprised that people like it, considering how fluffy it is! Haha! (I'm a big fan of cheese... oy.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the following chapter.

Thanks again for reading!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

"Mom, it's not the end of the world."

"What do you mean it's not the end of the world, Noah?" his mother spat. "Don't you see what a terrible mess you're in? And, what are you going to do with a baby? How is Quinn paying for her medical bills? Oh my God, what did Judy and Russell do to that girl? I know how fanatic they are!"

Puck's mom was losing it, but he kept his defiant disposition. He rolled his eyes, pushed himself out of his chair and started pacing.

"Look, I know that we're in deep…" his mother looked at him menacingly. "… trouble, but the kid's okay. I took Quinn to her doctor's appointment last week and both she and the baby are fine. As for the money, I sold my X-Box, my _old_ guitar and a few of dad's records. So far, so good."

With everything that Puck was saying, his mother's eyes softened more and more.

"She's going to Lamaze, taking her vitamins, still kicking everyone's ass—I mean behind—in school. Sure, her parents kicked her out and sure Finn hates us both, but at least Quinn and I have handled all of our problems. I've got all of this under control." Puck finished, a deep frown set in his forehead. He silently prayed that his mom bought his bullshit because he knew that he and Quinn were in over their heads.

His mom rubbed her tired eyes. _Shit. Her bullshit reader must be going off the charts…_ She looked at her son and smiled comfortingly, motioning for Puck to sit back down. Puck reluctantly returned to his seat, fearing the worst. _She's going to send me to boarding school… Worse! An _all-boys _boarding school. And she'll sell me out to Quinn's psycho parents… Mr Fabray will kill me when he finds out I knocked up his precious Quinnie. _Puck could feel his temperature rising, but he put on his poker face.

"Noah, I want you to listen to me." His mother's eyes narrowed, making her seem older than her 38 years. "I am going to help you and Quinn, whether you like it or not." Puck's face twitched slightly and his mom caught the tiny spasm. In that slight twitch, Sarah Puckerman saw that her son was putting on a brave face for her. She was overcome with emotion and another tear rolled down her cheek. Puck saw the tear and immediately grabbed his mom's hand, squeezing it. When their eyes met, he smiled softly and nodded his head—slowly giving in and accepting her help.

* * *

Puck was still in his gym clothes, but he decided to skip the shower that night. The conversation he'd just had with his mom was the closest they'd ever come to having a heart-to-heart. Adding to the awkwardness of the situation, he felt like he'd let her down.

As a single mom of two, Sarah Puckerman had never been able to spoil her kids, but she'd done the best she could. She worked tirelessly at the hospital, saved money for her kids' college funds and tried putting them in affordable after-school activities. Puck knew that she regretted the fact that neither he nor Hannah saw their dad (the last time Puck and Hannah had been forced into seeing the bastard, his dad had made promises to see them again soon. That was four years ago and Hannah still held hope of this coming true.), but the truth was, Puck never even missed the guy. Sure, his mom couldn't buy him game consoles like PS3 or X-Box (_Finn's mom always buys him shit. But he's an only child_, Puck reasoned whenever he felt the pang of jealousy brought on by Finn having all of the material things he wanted), but he didn't mind that he had to get a job in order to buy things for himself. It was better than asking his mom to buy stuff for him, since that often led to awkward moments in which she had to say "no".

He jumped on his bed, his eyebrows furrowed. Overall, his mom was one classy lady; she didn't threaten him, scream _at_ him or castrate him, so as far as he was concerned, he was in the clear. He didn't know how she would be able to help him with the whole Quinn situation, but now he had someone to count on who wasn't 16 years old. _Thanks, Big Guy, _he thought as he stared at the ceiling.

* * *

Puck arrived at Brittany's house earlier than usual. He hadn't slept much the previous night and all he wanted was to see Quinn. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right, that together they could raise their baby and that he had finally told his mom. _Okay, technically I didn't tell her, but I know Quinn will be proud, _Puck thought with a smug smile.

When the girls finally exited the house, Quinn was surprised to find him waiting for them. She entered the car and awkwardly handed Puck his coffee. Puck took a long sip from the coffee and nodded his thanks, noticing that Quinn was out-right staring at him. He smiled uncomfortably and put the car in drive.

They drove in silence, but every so often, Puck would catch Quinn looking at him, a soft smile on her pink lips. As soon as their eyes would meet (his were puzzled, hers were dazed), Quinn would hide her face behind her hair, a blush creeping on her face.

"What's up, Quinn?" Puck asked after the fourth time they played eye-tag. Quinn looked up at him. "Why do you keep lookin' at me?" He said with a laugh. _It's like I'm stuck in the Twilight Zone with this girl—one day she's mad at me, the next she's all smiles. Girls._

Quinn shrugged, trying to appear disinterested. _Just great, Quinn. You admit your feelings for Puck and now you're acting like a five year-old. _She rolled her eyes. _Might as well answer his question._

"I'm tired." She replied, trying to smile. Puck nodded, not looking at her, but staring straight ahead. "So, did you have a nice sleep?" Quinn asked. Puck's face showed his surprise. _Since when is Quinn into small-talk?_ He turned to look in the backseat. He wanted to make sure that Brittany was still in the car and he hadn't in fact stepped into another dimension in which Quinn Fabray actually cared about him, pigs flew and Brittany didn't exist.

Brittany looked back at Puck, just as confused as he was (_But that's normal_). She shrugged her thin shoulders and shook her head.

"I didn't sleep well." Puck finally answered. Quinn nodded sympathetically.

"That's horrible. Sorry to hear that." Puck looked at Quinn as though she had sprouted three heads. They stopped at a stoplight and he turned in his seat to get a better look at the blond sitting next to him. He assessed that she still looked the same, she still sounded the same and, yes... she was still pregnant. He turned, hoping to exchange another confused look with Brittany, but Brittany was busy playing games on her cell.

"Okay, Fabray," he started, his eyes hardening to show that his bullshit reader was starting to detect some major BS. "What's with the attitude?"

"What attitude?" Quinn asked, shrugging her shoulders. She smiled warmly at him (a smile he'd seen only a handful of times). "I just woke up in a really great mood," she lied. _I really don't want to push you away anymore._

"Sure," Puck raised his eyebrows. The light changed and they continued on their way. _Seeing as she's actually speaking to me today, I should take advantage of this situation. Warm her up a bit before I tell her the big news_, Puck contemplated.

"How was your rehearsal with Berry?" Puck asked, trying to keep the conversation flow going.

"Not bad..." Quinn shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to remember Rachel or the secret she'd shared with her.

"Yeah?" Puck asked, genuinely surprised that Quinn had enjoyed herself with Rachel. "I'm getting together with Santana tonight." Puck told her offhandedly. Quinn winced, turning her face to hide her displeasure. While he may have not been looking at his baby mama, Puck knew the precise moment in which Quinn went from happy to annoyed.

"Oh. When are you meeting her?" She asked jarringly. "We have glee club today, can't you practice then?" She looked at her hands, feeling embarrassed, angry and annoyed with herself. _I forgot about Santana. Puck only cares if he can get between girls' legs. I'm _such _an idiot. Tomorrow he'll forget about my Lamaze class and will ditch me at school._

"After I drop you and Brit off at the house, I'm coming back to school." Puck answered, his tone annoyed. _And here I go shitting the bed. Again. Shit. But what does she care that I'm getting together with Hopez? _He drove into the parking lot, finding his spot, trying hard not to look at Quinn (he could sense Quinn's glare and he didn't want to risk angering her more). He manoeuvred his way into a spot, turning off the ignition.

"You know what, Puck?" Quinn unbuckled her seat belt. "We won't need a ride. Brit and I can walk home today."

"But I don't want to walk!" Brittany pouted from the backseat.

"Tough!" Quinn called over her seat.

"Quinn," Puck started, attempting to catch her hand, but Quinn had already opened the door angrily and was walking away from the car, Brittany following quickly after her.

Puck fumbled stupidly with his seat belt latch, pushing the door open and almost hitting a freshman in the process. He ran after her, catching her by the wrist and turning her to face him. Big mistake.

She was livid, yanking her hand out of his grasp. Neither of them noticed that Brittany kept walking. _So much for them playing nice_, she thought.

"Don't you _ever_ grab me like that ever again," her voice shook with feeling. "_Ever_." She spun on her heel, but Puck was still on her trail.

"Quinn, wait!" He finally ran in front of her, blocking her escape. _Shit she's angry. I've never seen her eyes this green…_ Looking into her eyes, Puck noticed the tears pooling in her eyes. His first instinct was to look away, fearing another uncomfortable scene, but he stupidly reached out to hug her, instead.

"What are you doing?" Quinn demanded, pushing his arms away. She rolled her eyes and he figured it was because she was annoyed with his very presence. "Don't touch me. Just... Leave me alone, Puck. Please," she pleaded. Walking around him, Quinn started walking to her first class. She kept rolling her eyes to keep the tears from gathering and streaming down her cheeks. Growing up in the Fabray household, where hiding your true emotions was encouraged, this trick came in handy.

Puck watched after her, confused that she had reacted to strongly to him saying he would be rehearsing with Santana.

Realization dawned on him then: _Santana_. Quinn had a problem with him spending time alone with Santana. _Alone. Just great._ He hit a locker, hoping to be rid of some of his frustration, but all that did was anger him further. _Just fucking great_, he thought as he shook his smarting palm.

* * *

They had math together during sixth period. They often sat next to one another, but Quinn had asked to be moved to the front of the room, claiming she was feeling ill that day and would need a quick exit.

Puck watched her from the back, worrying that he had blown everything with her. Ever since Quinn had learned of Puck's sexting habits with Santana, she had pushed Puck further away. Now that she'd finally let him in, he had to go and make plans to work alone on a project with Santana. The easiest girl in their class.

And just when his mom finally learned the truth. _Great, Puckerman_.

A few rows ahead, Quinn's throat felt like she'd swallowed an entire ping-pong ball and the little bastard had somehow wedged itself in her larynx. She kept turning her neck slightly to watch Puck out the corner of her eye, but all she could see was Jacob Ben-Israel writing "I love Rachel Berry" and doodling a very unflattering caricature of Finn.

_Why did he have to bring up Santana?_, she lamented.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Or at least it would if they didn't have glee in 30 minutes.

Wanting to avoid Puck just a while longer, Quinn quickly gathered her things, rushing over to the girls' bathroom, where she knew Puck wouldn't venture.

* * *

The atmosphere in glee was tense. The 12 members acted as though they were standing in a room made of fine china, not wanting to be the first to break the tension. Now that Rachel knew the extent of Quinn's feelings for Puck, Quinn would catch her overtly staring from Puck to Quinn and vice versa. Rachel failed at subtlety. This made both Puck and Quinn feel as though were under constant scrutiny, adding to their unease.

And, though Puck and Finn sat as far from one another as possible, it was obvious that there was still a lot of hostility in the air between them. Adding to that hostility, Quinn was angry with Puck and made it abundantly clear by refusing to touch him.

Looking at his 12 glee club members, Will Schuester shrugged. He had thought that the week's assignment would help clear the air, but it seemed that it had managed to increase tension in the group. Deciding to call it a day, he let the glee clubbers leave early. It didn't surprise him that as soon as the words left his mouth, all 12 members rushed out into the hallway.

Once out in the hallway, Puck looked for Quinn. She had managed to evade him during rehearsal and now she was nowhere to be found. He caught up with Brittany, remembering Quinn's words to her this morning, figuring that the two girls would walk to Brit's house together.

"Where's Q?"

"I dunno. She told me that she wasn't going to walk home with me." Brittany shrugged.

Would it kill Brittany to know something? _Typical_, Puck thought darkly, glaring at the deft Cheerio before him. He motioned to leave, but she grabbed him by the arm, asking for a ride. He conceded, hoping to catch up to Quinn on the way to Brit's house.

They drove in silence; Brittany watched Puck's white knuckles, as he tightly gripped the steering wheel. She could make out the small indentations in his bones and silently worried that his skin would explode.

"Have you considered calling her cell?" Brittany offered in her breathy voice.

"Yes," Puck snapped. "I have, Brittany, but she's let it go to her voicemail each time."

"Oh," she turned back to face her window, deciding against saying something more. Puck was not in a good mood.

When they arrived at Brittany's house, both Puck and Brittany were surprised to find that Rachel was there with Quinn. Even more surprising was that they were loading Quinn's things into Rachel's shiny VW bug. Noticing Puck's car, the girls exchanged a worried look.

Brittany got out of the car, rushing to Quinn's side, while Puck deliberated whether he should speak with Quinn or not. Deciding that telling her that he'd finally told his mom the truth would make her happy, Puck pushed his door open. He stepped forward, deciding to stay a little behind. Burying his hands deep in his pockets, he shifted uncomfortably as the girls chatted. He stitched his eyebrows together, forming a scowl, and he kept swallowing, like he was trying to get a gross taste out of his mouth.

"Guess it was too good to last, huh?" he heard Brittany say to Quinn. Quinn nodded. "Well, if you're ever tired of... you know," Brittany said, casting a disgusted look in Rachel's direction, causing a dramatic eye roll from Rachel. "Hanging with Berry, mi casa es your cama."

"That means 'my house is your bed', Brit," Quinn answered with a smile.

"Duh. No wonder I got that question wrong on our Spanish mid-term," The blonde answered, her expression mystified. "Well, you're always welcome." She smiled.

"Thanks." Brittany waved at Rachel and Puck and scurried inside, her red Cheerios skirt twirling.

"I have, to um, check-in with my dads," Rachel said, scurrying inside her car to give Puck and Quinn some alone time. Once Rachel was out of sight, Puck shortened the distance between him and Quinn in three short steps.

"Quinn..." he started, not knowing what to say. Quinn shook her head, biting her lower lip to stop the tears from falling.

"No, Puck. It's okay. I overreacted this morning." She said with an unhappy smile. "But, I'm going to stay at Rachel's. And, the good thing is," she rambled on, avoiding Puck's eyes. "You no longer have to worry about driving me to Lamaze class or school... Rachel has volunteered to do... all of that." She faltered at the end of her sentence, not liking the prospect of having zero time with Puck. Sure, it was her kid, her mess, but now it was also Puck's choice. _Wasn't it?_

"But you hate Rachel," Puck said through gritted teeth, annoyed that something he'd done had caused all of this.

Quinn smiled, her teeth sparkling in the evening sun. "Nah, she's actually okay if you learn to drown out most of what she says. I think I can handle her." She bit her lip, looking up at the boy in front of her.

Puck tried laughing at Quinn's joke, but all he managed was a short chuckle. Impulsively, he cupped her cheek, catching her off-guard. Quinn let him touch her, leaning her face into his warm hand. _But he's going to hook up with Santana tonight_, came a terrified voice from within. She quickly straightened up, as though Puck's touch disgusted her, and grabbed the rest of her things.

He clenched his jaw, watching as Quinn opened the door to Rachel's car.

"I told my mom," he called out to her.

Quinn turned to look at him and smiled.

"About time."

She ducked into Rachel's car, twisting in her seat to watch him as they drove away.

Puck watched as the silver Jetta drove away, taking Quinn away from him. He lumbered back to his car and drove back to school, hating Santana more and more with every passing minute.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ Again, many thanks to all of you who've reviewed, favourited and put this story on your alerts! You make me smile.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

"Puck," Santana greeted him, her perfect ponytail swishing as she walked into the rehearsal room.

Puck let his leg fall lazily off the chair so she could sit next to him. Santana ignored the chair, standing next to him, instead. Her lips curled into her usual smile, reminding Puck of the Grinch's sneer. She leaned forward, stroking his mohawk seductively.

"It's been ages since we were all alone," she purred. She draped her arms around Puck's shoulders, her body pressing against his, but he merely stared ahead. He straightened up, causing her to slide ungracefully off of his body. She straightened up, plastering her smile on her face, again.

"Look, Lopez, we need two songs and that's it." Santana raised an eyebrow. "Personally, I wanna do Ludacris' 'Hoe.'" Santana's smile quickly turned into a scowl, her features wrinkling unflatteringly. She looked at Puck, her nostrils flaring, but Puck grinned, proud of himself.

The cheerleader looked down at her white sneakers, a contemplative look on her face.

"I really don't get you, Puck," she said in a tremulous voice. "One day, we're hooking up every other day, the next... it's like you don't even care." Her brown eyes met his hazel ones. "I really like you."

Puck wasn't expecting McKinley's Premiere Slut to actually develop feelings for him. _Bull. Shit. _He shook his head and stood.

"There's no way in _hell_ that you could possibly care for me." He said, barely containing his laugh. "You don't have a heart." Santana looked up, fake-sadness on her face.

"How dare you?" She shrieked, but her face convulsed into laughter. "Okay, fine. You got me. I don't actually 'care,'" she made air-quotes, "if you like me. I just, well, I miss screwing. You were a good lay, Puckerman." She nodded, licking her lips for effect.

"Yeah, well," Puck shrugged. "We all grow up."

"True, but this happened pretty recently. I mean, we were hooking up four times a week until November. I was one sext away, y'know. What happened?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

_Nothing happened, really, but I just got tired of blowing things with Quinn._ "I guess I found something better," he smiled.

"Ouch." Santana bit her bottom lip. "You know, you started acting all 'freaky'," she air-quoted again, "in September. I mean, I came back from vacation, all fine and shit, and you wouldn't give me the time of day. What, did you 'do'" she air-quoted, "one cougar too many?" She smiled playfully, her eyes lingering on Puck's smile.

_Truth was I did a _lot _of cougars that summer… but doing them couldn't wipe the memory of Quinn. I know it's not possible, but it's like when we were little and I had an irrational fear of catching her girl cooties if I touched her… I did catch something from having sex with her. And no, it wasn't an STD. It was worse than that—I got… feelings from her. Butterflies in my stomach, cold sweat, loss of appetite-type feelings._

_Ever since we were little, Quinn and I got one another. We went to the same pre-kindergarten (my dad was still around, so the most expensive pre-school in Allen County wasn't out of the question… Quinn also went there). Seeing that I was one year older than the rest of the kids in our class and that Quinn was the most mature four year-old ever, we became friends on the first day._

_Yeah, we were friends, but I _loved _teasing her. Teasing her was my way of showing her that I liked her. All I had to say was, "My mom doesn't believe in Jesus," and she'd go apeshit! I'd run off and she'd be right behind me. Fucked up, I know, but she got it. When other kids called me a bully, Quinn would say, "We're friends," her trademark glare in place. I would chase her around the playground, push her off of swings, pull on her blond pigtails... I just wouldn't leave her alone. Then, she'd call me a 'meanie', would kick me in the shins, would pull my pants down in front of everyone… she just wouldn't leave me alone, either._

_Our teacher called our parents after we set the hamsters free one day. She told them we were "out of control." That's when our moms met, meaning that I had a steady play-date with Quinn every Saturday morning. Our moms were _way _different, but they knew that Quinn and I got along. We were laughing and playing one minute, screaming and crying the next—then again, she did most of the crying… I was the, what's the word our second-grade teacher called me…? Oh yeah. I was the "instigator", but she… she was my willing victim. Again, fucked up, I know, but that's just how our friendship was._

_When I "discovered" girls (as my mom used to say to Finn's mom) in grade six, I used to stare at Quinn's mouth. It was always pink, even without that lip gunk that chicks wear, y'know? Staring at it, I often thought that her lips must've tasted like strawberries. Anyway, she had this habit of pouting when she was concentrating and it was during those moments that I… uh… well, let's just say I had to walk around with my textbook around my waist. Whatever! Quinn's hot, okay? _

_Anyway, I was all about the ladies when we reached puberty. Hell, my first girlfriend was three years older than me. I was 13, going on 26 and I loved having all the girls fight over me. The one girl I never dared mess with, was Quinn. She was too high and mighty and her old man scared the hell out of me. But a part of me always wondered what it felt like to kiss Quinn Fabray. Still, I figured that Quinn and I just didn't go together. I traded our once close friendship for chicks who put out. And I mean, why would I date Quinn when I knew she didn't let boys get to first base with her? Anyway, I started avoiding her, which may have blown up in my face a little, since I never did get to find what her mouth tasted like… that is until the summer between freshman and sophomore year. _

_My mom worked doubles that summer, so I was in charge of the house during the day. It wasn't too hard; I mostly took Hannah to the summer day camps offered at Lima's YMCA, which gave me ample time to socialize._

_I saw Santana a lot that summer, Ashley and Tiffany, too. Oh, and the girl from Akron, Andrea. Dang, she was fine. Anyway, most the Cheerios wanted to party with the Puckerman (except Quinn—not that I cared). Soon, everyone started going away for the summer. Including Finn. I couldn't believe that the ball-less sucker was going to his grandparents' house of all places. He'd email me, bitching about how lame Cleveland was, but he would often talk about how much he missed Quinn. They'd started dating earlier that summer and I gotta say, he was whipped within the week! I mean, even for Dumbson that was quick._

_Anyway, he wrote to me, telling me that he'd heard that all of Quinn's friends were gone. Being the softie he is (big lug has a heart, but is missing his brain), he asked if I'd chill with her. I followed my first instinct, emailing him to "Take out his tampon" and leave me alone. I was sick of getting his whiny emails. He kept nagging me, though (he was worse than my mom!), but I ignored him. I wasn't going to waste my free time on Quinn._

_But when I saw that she was avoiding me that day in the Quick-N-Go, something inside me, call it my love of being a smart-ass, snapped. I took my fabric softener to the car, waited for her to reach the checkout and made my move._

"_Hey, Fabray." I swear she jumped about a foot off the ground. "Fancy bumpin' into you at the Quick-N-Go." She slowly turned around, her perfect bitch smile already plastered on her flawless face._

"_Hello, _Puck_." I loved how she managed to use my own name as an insult. Always the gentleman, I offered her a ride home, not knowing that she was driving with her learner's permit (what a bad-ass). She kept walking towards the sweet ride her dad had bought her the previous month, huffing and puffing the whole time. I felt kind of bad. I mean, a tight chick like Quinn shouldn't have to carry her own bags, but she was stubborn. She wouldn't even let me help her. Following her in silence was kind of weird, so I made small talk._

_"So, have you heard from your loser boyfriend? He emailed me the other day about really missing you." I couldn't help but laugh at my pathetic best friend. I mean, seriously, he could get with any chick in Lima and he chose the Virgin Mary? "He wanted me to make sure you weren't too bored now that your worshippers are gone."_

_She looked at me like I had the plague. "Worshippers?" she asked, her eyebrow rising in confusion._

_"Yeah, Satan and Bitch are gone... Finn's gone. Hell, do you have any friends?" I jumped on her trunk, watching as she fished for her keys, stupidly wondering how a goodie-two-shoes, 15 year-old girl without a driving permit would drive to the Quick-N-Go. I knew she had balls when we were in little, but I thought she'd changed since then._

_"Leave me alone," she stressed, shooting one of her famous glares my way. She looked so sexy when she did that. She kept fishing through her purse and when she finally found her keys, I took them from her, smoothly popping her trunk open and stuffing the bags inside. I swung the keys around my back to her, and she smiled, shaking her head at me. She bit her lip nervously, tucking a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. __The way the sunlight hit her made my heart race. I mean, yeah. I've already admitted that she was hot, but she was more than that. She was perfect__._

_"Guess you won't need a ride," I said, slowly trying to get my legs to move. In that moment, I wished I had told Finn I would take care of Quinn, make sure she was having a good time. Instead, I was going to leave her at the Quick-N-Go parking lot. "I'll see you around, Quinn." I forced myself to turn around and walk to my car._

_I hadn't made it 15 feet when I heard her yell my name._

_"Puck!" Hearing the persistence in her voice made my heart jump. I smiled to myself, happy that she wanted to be with me too—at least for the day._

_"Yes, Quinnie?" I called back, knowing how much she hated her parents' pet name for her. She pouted, her pink lips protruding a tiny bit, looking… so tempting. She sighed, obviously annoyed by me._

_"Come here!"_

_"I'm sorry?" I pointed to my ears, shaking my head. I missed teasing her._

_"COME HERE!" she yelled. I grinned and jogged the short distance back to her, loving the sight of her in her yellow sundress._

_"Finn's right. I am pretty bored. We're going swimming." She told me. Nobody tells Puck what to do. _

_"Excuse me? I'm not going swimming. Have you seen the pools in Lima?" She rolled her eyes._

_"Well, what pools do you approve of?" she demanded, jutting her chin out._

_I smiled at her, raising my eyebrows suggestively. "Your family owns a pool, Fabray." She shook her head and I could see her fighting against my suggestion. She mouthed 'No,' pouting again. _

_"Well, then you can kiss your idea buh-bye," I shrugged, knowing that this would sway her in the end. I started walking back to my car, counting down the seconds until…_

_"Fine," she gave in. "But you're not cleaning my pool. We have our own pool cleaner." I rolled my eyes. She could be so stuck-up._

_"Fine. I'll meet you at your place around 7:00?"_

_Quinn climbed into her red Civic. "Sure," she said over her shoulder before closing the door. _

_So, I sent Hannah to her best friend Molly's for the night. I figured I would be home late and it was easier to drop her off somewhere safe, than worry about having to pick her up before 10 o'clock. It wasn't that I was planning on it being a late night… I just wanted to make sure my little sis was looked after. I went to the 7-Eleven, looking as pathetic as possible in the hope that some idiot college frat boys would buy me some liquor. It worked and I was able to get a sixer of wine coolers and sixer of Natty Lite beers._

_On the way to Quinn's mansion, I wondered if hanging out with my best friend's girl was really such a good idea, especially since the girl happened to be Quinn. Quinn Fabray: quite possibly the most amazing looking chick in Lima. Hell, the most amazing-looking chick to ever go to WMHS. On one hand, it was harmless… but something in me knew that a one-on-one hangout with Quinn wouldn't be all innocent. I mean, I'm studly and Quinn's fashion magazine beautiful. Things happen when too good lookin' people get together. I grabbed both sixers and made it to her front door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked._

_As she opened her door, I could read the uncertainty in her eyes, but she let me through all the same. She tried not to smile, which made me wonder if I made her nervous. I was staring at her _hardcore_, but 1) she was a half-naked chick and 2) she was a half-naked QUINN FABRAY._

_I'll never forget the way she looked that night. What? That's not a gay thing to say, so shut up! Anyway, her blond hair was loose, hanging in soft waves around her face. She was wearing a red and white swimsuit, which wasn't skimpy, but showed off her flat stomach and long legs. I tried not to stare, she was my buddy's girl after all, but not staring made me act all stiff and weird. She took the wine coolers from me, her left eyebrow rising in suspicion._

"_College guys felt sorry for me," I shrugged. She laughed then, her laugh literally filling me with this weird... _happiness_...__ and all of the awkwardness between us lifted. We walked to her yard and had some innocent fun. I splashed her, she pretended to be annoyed. She called me a dick, I called her a bitch. It was just like old times, only there was some weird sexual tension building. I cracked open a wine cooler and she drank from it, concentrating on the alcohol, rather than on hurling insults at me. Watching her down those two coolers reminded me that Quinn wasn't much of a goodie-goodie. Hell, I'd seen her drink at parties… I guess I'd expected Quinn to be a lot different from how she was when we were little. I figured she was an angel. She sure looked like one._

_I watched her, studying her moves (which showed she was at least somewhat into me), mesmerized by her pink lips (which kept pouting every so often) and completely in awe of the muscles on her stomach. I knew the Cheerios worked out, but Quinn was in way better shape than Santana or the other Cheerios I'd been with._

_We sat by the pool's edge, just… talking. She asked about Hannah, asked about my mom. There was a pause in our conversation and I watched as she drank from her wine cooler, leaning back against her right arm, staring out at the blue water._

"_What?" She asked, her mouth inches from the bottle opening._

"_You're beautiful," I blurted. I looked away, taking a huge swig of my beer. "I mean, you know. Whatever." I added lamely, still not looking at her. What was wrong with me? I wasn't a lightweight, so I couldn't blame it on the alcohol._

"_Yeah… right." She sat up, biting her lower lip. "I don't know if you could call me beautiful. I mean, blond hair, green eyes, popularity. They all add up to perfect as far as American society says. I'm even dating the school's quarterback! Talk about cliché. But, the thing is… I'm not beautiful." She turned to look at me and grabbed my wrist. "Did you know that I gained three pounds since last week? Yeah. I did. And now… Now, my captaincy is in trouble. I…" she looked at the bottle in her hand. "I'm not beautiful." She let go of my wrist, cupping the wine cooler with both hands. "And now Ms Sylvester has called for a practice this coming Wednesday! Ugh. Have one lousy weigh-in and the world thinks you're a heifer." She scoffed. Her lips twitched and I could tell that the demonic Cheerios coach ruled her squad through fear._

_I looked at Quinn, lounging underneath the late August sky. Acting more like my friend than she had in years and I realized how much I missed just being with her._

"_You know you're perfect," I stated. When I saw the surprise on her face again, I lightly added, "Right?" Feeling brave, I pulled a blonde curl off her face, letting my hand graze her shoulder. "Sylvester wishes she was you, Quinn. That, and I'm pretty convinced she's the anti-Christ, so…"_

_She smiled at me, reminding me how much I missed _this_. How much I missed _us. _She leaned back on her hands again, letting her head roll to the side lazily, her pose reminding me just how much I wanted in her pants. I remembered Finn… Remembered how much he liked Quinn. Remembered how Quinn would never want a guy like me. Remembered how Quinn was perfect. Remembered how Quinn was still a virgin... _

_I shot up, reminding myself that I couldn't sleep with Quinn. Reaching down to her, I helped her up._

"_Jesus, Fabray. You cannot hold your liquor," I teased. She may have been my dream girl, but she was a lightweight. She'd only had two wine coolers and she was teetering like that? _

"_Don't use the Lord's name in vain," she said. My eyes rolled involuntarily and she laughed. I looked at her smile and felt high. Reminding myself that I couldn't have her, I wrapped her half-naked body in a towel and we walked inside. She leaned against me every step of the way._

_In those minutes, as we went from the pool to her bedroom, I wrestled with the temptation before me: I could sleep with Quinn (something I hoped she wanted, but couldn't dare to expect) and forget my friendship with Finn __or I could tuck her in. Yes. I would _tuck _her in. That's all I'd do._

_I helped her into bed and wrapped the covers around her, feeling the warmth from her body. I hovered over her face, willing myself to walk out her door, when she kissed me._

_I pulled away, confused by her actions (yet totally turned on) and just stared at her. Perfect Quinn Fabray, who was dating my perfect best friend, had kissed me. There was no way I was leaving her that night. I kissed her again (loving the fact that I had known all along that her lips tasted like strawberries) when I felt her tongue tickle my bottom lip. I opened my mouth, breathing her in as she breathed out. Our tongues met and I climbed into bed with her, my tongue massaging hers. Her teeth nibbled on my bottom lip playfully and smiled against her mouth. I stroked her hair, amazed at how soft it felt, while her hands pulled me in closer._

_I know it was wrong. Knew it then, too. But come on, can you blame me? I liked her, she seemed to like me—it happened. But, she panicked as soon as we did it, yelling at me to leave. Guess she remembered that I was Finn's best friend and she was out of my league. Whatever. It happened I left and I felt like the world's hugest asshole. I mean, she wasn't drunk, but I was her first. _Me. Noah Puckerman. Me_. How does that even happen? Girls do me, cougars do me, but I had never done _it _with a virgin._

_I tried calling her the next day and the day after that. She never answered. When school started back up it was the same thing: she avoided me and I tried talking to her. Finn could sense something was up, so he started inviting me and Santana along on more double dates. Guess he wanted his best friend and his girlfriend to get along. Whatever his reasons, nothing worked._

_And now… now Quinn and I are stuck. We can't move forward and we can't go back._

"Yeah. Guess I'm a cougaholic." Puck answered, smiling back at Santana.

* * *

"Quinn, you're doing it wrong." Rachel's voice came from the door of the Berry's guestroom.

Quinn was trying to make her bed, but Rachel insisted on overseeing her every move. If Quinn folded her underwear "wrong," Rachel would point it out to her.

"Rachel," Quinn turned, a forced smile on her face. Rachel took a step backwards, clearly frightened by Quinn's faux-sweetness. "Leave me alone."

Rachel ducked out the room, mumbling to herself about "ungrateful people" having a "lot of nerve." Quinn shook her head. _Did I jump too soon? Not that I'm not happy to be here. I'd take Rachel's home over Brittany's any day… but. _A gentle kick came from Quinn's womb, startling her. Since December, her little girl had taken to "knocking" (as Quinn often referred to her kicks) whenever Quinn felt down. It was as though the baby knew when Quinn was at the end of her rope and her kicks were her little way of telling Quinn that it would be all right.

Quinn had never shared the new development with Puck. She knew that he was already too attached to the little stranger and knowing that she was progressing would only make his attachment that much stronger.

Quinn sighed, lightly stroking her belly and smiling to herself. _Things are going to be okay. Rachel will grow on me. And if she doesn't and I end up killing her in her sleep, I can blame it on the pregnancy hormones._

_

* * *

_

"Cougaholic?" Santana rolled her eyes. "Puh-leeze. You're a skeez. That's all there is to it. If you're addicted to anything, it's sex."

Puck scoffed. He knew that he had needs, but come on. Addicted to sex. No way. _Right?_

"Just because I enjoy a roll in the sack, doesn't mean I'm a pyro…"

"Nympho," Santana corrected.

"Yeah. That." Puck fumed. "I can control my… urges."

"HA!" Santana uncrossed her arms. "If that were true, you wouldn't have cheated on me."

"I never cheated on you! You broke up with me because of my bad credit score."

"Wrong-o, dick. I broke up with you because I'd heard through the vine that you and Quinn got busy over the summer." Santana sat in one of the chairs. "Right around the time you stopped calling. Right around the time you started banging cougars double-time. Right around the time Quinn became bitchier."

_So… she knows? She knows when and why and oh shit. _Puck went to sit in the chair next to Santana.

"Technically it wasn't cheating." The girl scoffed. "I mean, yeah. We were _technically_ together, but you were gone for the summer."

"Do you care for her?" Santana turned her head to look him square in the eye. "Like, before you guys 'did'" she air-quoted, "it and… Do you?"

Puck clenched his jaw, avoiding Santana's stare. For once, she looked convincingly sad. _Maybe because I actually hurt her in August._

"Yeah," Puck answered shakily. "I care for Quinn."

"That makes your cheating… worse." Santana licked her top lip, staring fixedly at the piano. "How am I the 'ho', when you and Quinn betrayed me?"

"You didn't even like me that much! Admit it, you were only dating me because you wanted to get closer to the quarterback. And lets face it," Puck's voice was rising. Girls would use him to get to Finn. "Now that Quinn and Finn are done, you're going after Finn."

Santana's hurt dissipated and she glared at Puck.

"Yeah, so?" She balled her hands into fists.

"You don't care about Finn. You only want him because you hate Quinn and you want to hurt her. Thing is, I don't think you're hurting her so much as you're hurting glee club." _Who would've thought I'd be standing up for Homo-Explosion?_

Santana scoffed. "Puh-leeze. How is what I'm doing with Finn affecting glee?"

Puck stood again. "How? Are you blind? Rachel likes Finn, Finn likes Rachel, Finn is hurt, Finn is _using_ you to get back at Quinn… Quinn couldn't care less. But all of glee club feels the tension. We all know that Finn is pissed off at the two of us, but you flirting with Finn hurts us more in the long run since Rachel is getting hurt. Newsflash, Lopez: Rachel is our star."

Santana waved her hand as though dismissing Puck's claims. She sat up. "How is Quinn over Finn? And how do you know that?"

"Call it a hunch," _Or rather a hope_. "She never mentions him and I see it. She doesn't."

"Are you sure it's not something you're hoping for?" Santana asked venomously.

"How the hell did you find out about Quinn this summer? Who told?" Puck asked, changing the subject. Luckily, Santana took the bait.

"Okay fine. No one told me," she said truthfully, her brown eyes rolling. "I could tell. That, and Quinn left her cell in my car one night. It had about ten missed calls from you. When I asked her about it, she told me that Finn had asked you to chill with her. Then… I found a text." Puck's eyes bulged. He'd forgotten about the text he'd sent Quinn a week before school started.

"'Quinn, I'm sorry I took it too far the other night. I know it was a mistake, but as far as mistakes go... it was pretty great.'" Santana glared at Puck as she finished quoting from his text. "It was pretty clear that something had happened between you two."

"Santana, look…"

"Screw it, Puckerman. I don't care." She shrugged, folding her slender arms in front of her, closing Puck off. "Anyway, I have cheer tomorrow. I'm out." She stood, walking towards the door. It was clear that she didn't care about Puck, but her pride was hurt. Puck almost felt bad for hurting her, but knowing that Santana was still intent on hurting Quinn annoyed him.

She stopped at the door, slowly turning around to look at Puck. "If you really care about Quinn, you should try talking to Finn." She raised an eyebrow. "Think about it."

Puck sat back in the vacant chair, slumping. He knew Santana was right. If Quinn had feelings for Finn, Puck had to mend part of his broken friendship with Finn. _Great._

_

* * *

_

_**A/N:**_ Thanks again for reading! I really hope that you enjoyed Puck's POV of The Night. He's so much fun to write, but he has a potty mouth! Haha!


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_ Many thanks to those of you who are reading this story! Many thanks and COOKIES to those of you who are adding this story to your alerts, reviewing or favouriting (_so_ not a word, but whatevs) this story! You guys are all awesome!

Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. I did a lot of editing on this chapter from the original one, meaning that I took out some extra stuff. I hope you all like it!

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block._

_

* * *

_

Rachel stood outside Quinn's bedroom door. She pressed her lips together, contemplating whether or not she should risk bothering Quinn again. Deciding that talking to Quinn about their glee number was worth getting the stink eye, Rachel stood up straighter and knocked.

"Rachel… what is it now?" Quinn demanded, swinging the door open.

"I wanted to see if you were comfortable." She scanned the inside of Quinn's new room, noting that the bed wasn't made the way that she had suggested (she'd suggested using all eight of the pillows she'd provided her with, but Quinn was only going to use three of them). She smiled weakly at Quinn. "Do you need anything? Food? Water?"

Quinn clicked her tongue in annoyance. Taking a deep breath, she stepped aside, letting her in. Rachel beamed and practically bounced into Quinn's room. When she arranged herself on Quinn's bed, she motioned for the other girl to sit next to her.

"Okay," she started as soon as Quinn was settled in beside her. "I have figured out the arrangement for our mash-up. Quinn, it is going to be amazing!" Quinn raised her eyebrows, nodding uncomfortably. _Is her entire life centred on glee?_

"Really?" Quinn asked in a monotone. "You don't say."

"Picture this," Rachel said, waving her right hand with a flourish. "A dark auditorium filled with our peers from glee club. A single light shining on me! Cue the intro. It's sensual, melancholic and will captivate our audience." Rachel's eyes took on a sheen and Quinn wondered if Rachel was still in the room with her. As if waking from her daze, Rachel continued. "Oh, and for costumes, I've decided that we'll both be wearing gold gowns and will have crimson roses in our hair..." Her smile grew four sizes more, but when she noticed the pained look on Quinn's face, her face fell. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. The baby just gave me a really hard kick." Quinn explained, massaging her left side. _Probably thinks your idea is ridiculous. _"It's fine."

Rachel looked uncertain and rose to leave the room, telling Quinn she'd be back shortly. She came back with two glasses of water and handed a glass to Quinn. The girls shared an awkward smile; the surrealism of their situation wasn't lost on either of them. They had gone from enemies to roommates in a matter of months and it had both of them reeling.

Rachel chanced a look at the girl beside her and studied her. Quinn may have been two sizes bigger, her clothes may not fit as well as they once did, but she was still beautiful. She understood why Puck found her attractive… why Finn had dated her. She really didn't know what she could say to Quinn to make her feel better, but Rachel did know that she needed someone in whom she could confide.

"What?" Quinn snapped when she couldn't any more of Rachel's staring. Quinn had been preparing for bed when Rachel had come knocking on her door and she was in no mood for another Rachel and Quinn Hallmark movie moment.

"I was just wondering how it is that you never dated Puck," Rachel explained. "Before Finn, that is," she added when she saw Quinn's look of disdain.

"Why would I date Puck?" Quinn argued. _Is it getting unreasonably warm in this room?_ Quinn shifted in her spot. "He's not looking to have a relationship with me."

Rachel smiled. Just because Rachel Barbra Berry was exceedingly self-aware and observant, did not mean that teenagers her age were as mature as she. She patted Quinn's hand comfortingly, annoying Quinn even more with her condescension.

"Don't tell me you never noticed him watching you in Spanish, Math or during glee club." When Quinn stared back in confusion, Rachel rolled her brown eyes in exasperation. "Quinn, Puck joined glee club for _you_."

* * *

As Puck drove to Finn's house, he felt his stomach knot. He parked, reviewing his game plan.

_All right, Puck. Go in there and show the chump how sorry you are. _

He stepped onto the asphalt, spitting out the dip he had in his mouth, and made his way to the Hudsons' front door. Taking a shaky breath, he knocked.

When Mrs Hudson opened the door, Puck saw the surprise etched on her features. She blinked, as if waking from her daze.

"Noah!" A smile lit her weathered face. "Oh my goodness!" She pulled the teen into a hug and when she pulled back, Puck saw that her once jubilant smile, showed sadness. "I saw your mom earlier this week." Puck nodded.

"Yeah, uh… I told her."

"Good," she smiled warmly at him once more. "Listen, I think I know why you're here, but just so you know," she paused, looking deeply into Puck's eyes. "You broke Finn's heart." Puck felt as though a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him. "Please be kind. He's a bit… fragile, still."

Puck nodded and let Mrs Hudson lead him to Finn's room on the second floor. He buried his hands deep in his pockets and prayed. _God, man, if you can… could you _please _let the words flow? I promise I'll stop chewing and, hell, I'll even go to temple more often. Just, please, let Finn forgive me, man. _Mrs Hudson knocked on the door and Puck held his breath.

"Finn, honey? You have a visitor."

As soon as Finn saw Puck in his doorway, his face darkened. He glared at Puck and said, "Mom, I have homework," despite the fact that he was currently playing a video game.

"Finn, please. Just talk to Noah." She smiled at Puck again, leaving the two boys alone. Puck finally exhaled and slowly entered the room, closing the door behind him. He didn't know where to begin, so he stood in the middle of Finn's bedroom, shifting his weight on his feet. Finn, on the other hand, was still intently playing on his PSP.

"Hey… man," Puck said, extending his right hand.

"Leave." Finn replied, still staring at the TV screen. "Go see Quinn and dick around with her. I hear she's living at Rachel's now."

Puck felt his temperature rise. He clenched his jaw, trying hard to control his temper. He scoffed, laughing at how stubborn Finn was acting. Sure, Puck knew that what he and Quinn had done to him was shitty (he'd be the first to admit it), but Finn had never loved Quinn. He knew he cared about her, hell Finn had idolized Quinn since the sixth grade, but Puck knew that Finn didn't love her. Quinn, on the other hand, had risked everything to keep her lie going. Why? Because she wanted Finn. Why? Because she loved him. Unable to control himself, Puck yanked the controller from Finn's hands and stood in front of the TV.

"You never loved her!" Puck practically yelled.

Finn stared back at Puck, his face showing his confusion. He took back the controller and sat up straighter. He shook his head, a hand sweeping through his brown hair.

"She was my girlfriend." He said looking at Puck in disbelief. "Who the hell cares whether I loved her or not. She was my girl and you were my boy. Or so I thought." He scoffed. Puck shifted his weight again, debating if he should leave. It wasn't like this chat of theirs was going anywhere. Puck looked at Finn again and saw understanding light his face like it did whenever he finally understood how to use a math formula. Finn squinted, licking his lips, and nodded slowly.

"_You_ love her." He spat. Finn looked at Puck with disgust. "If you wanted her so much, why didn't you ask her out instead of me?"

Puck swallowed hard. _Shit. Does everyone know how I feel about Quinn? _He pursed his lips, feeling more awkward than ever before. He watched Finn, noticing how confused he looked, and took that as a sign to speak.

"Finn, I'm sorry."

Finn looked up at Puck. "You know, I never noticed it before." He let out a soft chuckle. "Probably because I was too into her to see how you acted around her… but you've always liked Quinn." Puck clenched his jaw. "I mean, ever since we were little. It isn't a recent thing or whatever. Wow. I'm such an idiot." He kept shaking his head. "You guys couldn't stand to be together because of what happened." He took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut. "Not because you guys disliked one another, but because there were actual feelings. I know that now. I see that now. I was so goddamn stupid."

Puck cleared his throat, making Finn look up at him. "I know I can't take back what happened between Quinn and me. I know that. Right? But for what it's worth, I'm sorry." Finn stared at Puck, studying him. He swallowed hard before his mouth curved into a small smile.

Taking Finn's smile as a cue to keep talking, Puck continued. "You know, I kept it a secret to protect Quinn." He sighed, but kept talking. "She loves you, Finn. She was just afraid of losing you."

Finn shook his head angrily. "If she had loved me, she wouldn't have slept with _you_."

"She was drunk!" _Seriously. This guy is an idiot. I forgot how difficult it is to speak with him. _"And she was scared. Of losing you, of telling her psycho parents, of getting kicked off the Cheerios, of becoming a social reject." Puck spat the last word out, feeling the bile rising in his mouth. He stared at the carpet in Finn's room. "You shouldn't hate her."

Finn smiled unhappily. "I never hated Quinn." Feeling as though the rock in his chest was lifted, Puck looked at Finn. "Her parents are whack," Finn continued. "I know why she lied." The boys shared an awkward smile. Finn inhaled. "I did hate you, though," he added dejectedly.

"Did?" Puck inquired, his eyebrows rising in disbelief.

Finn nodded. "I don't hate you anymore. I did back in December and I did up until a few weeks ago, but hating you takes too much effort. And you aren't worth it," Finn ended, standing up. Bashful and uncertain, he extended his hand and Puck graciously took it. He smiled at Finn, feeling freer than he had in days, and when Finn sat back down on his bed, Puck felt comfortable enough to sit on the floor.

Rubbing his face in exhaustion, Finn breathed out one word. "Why?" Puck shrugged. Sitting up straighter, Finn continued. "I mean, you liked her, why didn't you say so and ask her out, instead?"

Avoiding Finn's earnest stare, Puck answered slowly. "I knew she'd say no to me…" It was a truth he was too afraid to voice out loud, but Puck knew that he owed Finn some honesty after the heartbreak he'd made him go through in the fall. Finn looked confused. _What? Do I have to spell it out to him? _Puck rolled his eyes.

"Quinn is perfect, right?" Finn shrugged, the hint of a smile on his lips, which encouraged Puck to keep talking. "I mean, She's smart, athletic, gorgeous… she's… wow." He looked at Finn furtively, seeing that the smile was still there. "You? You're near-perfect. You're nice, athletic and could probably kill someone by stepping on them. Quinn deserves perfect." Finn nodded, finally understanding part of why Puck and Quinn had done what they did. Realizing that the usual confidence that Puck exuded was missing, Finn took pity on him.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, Quinn never even let me touch her butt," he offered, shrugging his massive shoulders. He was blushing again and though Puck had known that all along, he was glad that Finn was trying to make him feel better.

"See?" Puck said with a smile, pointing an accusatory finger at Finn. "You're nice. You're Finn Hudson." Puck nodded. "Quinn deserves a stand-up guy. Not someone who will hurt her all the time."

"You know, if you really care for her, like I'm assuming you do, you could lay off the cougars and cheerleaders." Finn advised, raising an eyebrow_._

"I have. Trust me. Hell, I haven't had a booty call with Santana since November! Besides, pool season won't be back until May, so you know my cougar tail-chasing's on hold." He smirked for show, but his face quickly softened. "But Quinn doesn't trust me. Hell, I don't think she'd trust me, again." The boys stared at one another again, neither knowing what the next step should be. "So, we're cool…?" Puck asked.

Finn looked at Puck sideways, and shrugged.

"We're not friends… but we're okay." Puck nodded.

Both boys stood up and Puck walked towards the door. Remembering Santana and her plan to take over the world, one dumb jock at a time, he turned to look at Finn, again.

"Hey, tell Santana to lay off. It's embarrassing." He said, shrugging a shoulder.

"Oh, yeah… it's weird," Finn laughed, rubbing his neck uncomfortably.

"Well, just so you know, Rachel's saving herself for you." Puck said in response. Finn smiled, blushing at the mention of Rachel's name. "Yeah, she uh, only dated me back in October to make you jealous." Finn and Puck both smiled at that, finding it hard to believe that they were having an actual conversation again.

"I know," Finn's blush deepened and he fidgeted with his hands. "I'm not ready for another… relationship, yet."

"Well, my advice is to tap _that_, instead of Hopez." Puck said. Finn let out a small chuckle, shaking his head at Puck's words. He was still the same guy he'd raced his Tonkas with in grade school. Well, maybe not the _exact_ guy, since four year-old Puck wouldn't tell four year-old Finn to 'tap' girls their age. At least Finn didn't think so.

Puck smiled. "I know that you liked Rachel even while you and Quinn were dating, so… just do it."

He pulled open Finn's door, but Finn's voice stopped him.

"Well, just so you know, Quinn doesn't care about me like you think she does." Finn shoved his hands in his pockets, avoiding Puck's eyes. They weren't much for talking about their feelings even when they were hanging out every day.

Puck nodded and left Finn's room. At least now he could say with conviction that he and Finn were on the mend. At least now he knew that Finn didn't hate Quinn.

He could only hope that Quinn wouldn't run back into Finn's arms when he told her.

* * *

"And how do you know this?" Quinn asked, trying to seem unaffected by what Rachel had said. Rachel smiled.

"Puck didn't deny it when I asked him." Quinn stared at Rachel, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. Rachel scoffed lightly and smiled. "When we broke up, I asked him if he'd joined glee to be closer to you and he never denied it. I took that to mean yes."

Quinn laughed, hugging her arms lightly. She chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully and sighed. "So that's why you told me to reconsider adoption? You know that Puck does want to make things work?" Rachel nodded.

"He's not as vapid and unintelligent as I thought." Rachel contemplated out loud. "I mean, dating him was a ruse to make Finn jealous on my part," Quinn looked at Rachel wearily. "Sorry." Rachel looked sheepish. "Thing is, dating me was Puck's way of getting over you, Quinn. He didn't think he stood a chance, so he gave up altogether."

Quinn cleared her throat and remembered Puck's habit of sexting. She had asked him in November if he cared for her and he vowed that he did, but his actions proved otherwise. How could she trust him again? As though she could hear Quinn's thoughts, Rachel spoke again.

"Seeing as I'm the only one of us who has ever dated Puck, I can safely say that he's a very considerate boyfriend." Quinn felt jealousy rise in her chest. _She had Finn, even when _I _was with him, and she dated Puck, while I was expecting his child. Why am I living here, again?_ Her eyes involuntarily welled with tears of rage. Notcing this change, Rachel kept talking. "I know that what I'm saying isn't easy to swallow, Quinn... but I'm telling you this so you can let go of your irrational fear that Puck will cheat on you. He won't. He cares for you and he cares for that baby."

Quinn let out a shaky breath. "What makes you so sure?" Rachel winced at the ice in Quinn's words. "He cheated on Santana with me in the summer and he sext Santana while we were babysitting together_._ I don't think that fidelity is in his vocabulary." Quinn stood and walked to her door. She was done talking to Rachel.

Rachel nodded, a sad smile on her face. "I know you don't feel as though Puck cares for you," Quinn rolled her eyes. _Can't she just leave me alone?_ "But if he didn't care for you, he wouldn't have joined glee. He wouldn't have tried getting over you. He wouldn't have sought you out after Finn found out. He's like a little boy in many ways, Quinn, but you can't deny that there is tenderness in his eyes when he looks at you. I see it, but you seem to ignore it."

Rachel stood and swept out of Quinn's room, leaving a very agitated pregnant teenager to sort through her fears.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Rachel is meddling now... God how I love her!


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N:_** Thank you so very much for all of the feedback, guys! You guys are wonderful! I really do look forward to reading your comments, so thank you for brightening up my day. :)

I also wanted to apologize because I didn't post this chapter yesterday, like I'd originally promised! I hope that none of you are too annoyed with me, but I literally added a million things in this chapter (and please tell me if it sucks, since I think I may have added a bit too much, hahah... but do so _gently_, please. ;) ). In any case, I really hope that you guys like it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

Puck was on his way out the door, when his mother called him into the kitchen.

"Sit. Eat with us." She urged. Puck would have preferred racing to school (speaking to Quinn was something he was itching to do. He felt as though he would explode if he didn't and his heart was the ticking bomb), but when he saw his younger sister's huge smile, he couldn't say no.

He dragged his feet to the kitchen table, plopping down in his chair, while his mom placed a bowl in front of him and brought him the milk. He glanced at Hannah, who hadn't taken her adoring eyes off of him the whole time, and cocked one of his eyebrows.

"What?" He asked self-consciously.

"You never have breakfast with mom and me," she grinned. He ruffled her hair affectionately and poured his Cap'N Crunch. Chowing down noisily, he relished his family's company, as he thought idly about the last time his mom had talked him into eating with them. _I wonder why mom stopped me today. Is today Hannah's birthday?_ He looked at his mom, worried that he might have forgotten someone's special day. She seemed… tired, cupping her mug of coffee in both hands, leaning against the countertop, staring absently towards the doorway.

Their eyes met and Sarah looked at her son affectionately. He shot a small smile in her direction, but quickly looked back down, a little overwhelmed by her gaze.

"Hannah, go brush your teeth," Sarah said. "I'll drive you to school in a few minutes." Hannah quickly picked up her empty dishes and took them to the sink, running out of the kitchen to brush her teeth.

Puck watched as his mom walked to sit across from him; it was her turn to give him a small smile. Heaving a deep sigh, she furrowed her brows and remained quiet, merely watching Puck as he ate his cereal.

"I asked you to join Hannah and me for breakfast today, Noah," she started, "because I want to remind you that we are your family. You've hardly been around and I know you're probably feeling restless over Quinn's situation. But family comes first." She gave him a knowing smile.

Puck nodded, drinking the leftover milk quickly so he could avoid saying anything at all. He stood, took his dishes to the sink and slowly turned around to face his mom. Leaning against the countertop, he exhaled slowly.

"I know you've always hated that I break curfew," he began, stuffing his hands in his pockets and avoiding her gaze. Her hazel eyes were too much like his and he couldn't bear to look into them this morning. "That I have a new girl every other day it seems. That my grades keep getting worse. And I know that you think I'm in over my head. For that I'm sorry." He clenched his jaw, staring intently at the linoleum on his kitchen floor.

Sarah smiled at her boy. "I know, Noah. I know." She soothed. "You're… rebellious, but you're not a bad kid." Puck shifted his weight and headed out of the kitchen.

"We're your family," she said, making Puck stop at the kitchen exit. "Quinn is our family, now, too. Make sure you tell her that."

He nodded slowly, his smile never quite reaching his eyes. "Thanks, mom," he said, finally leaving for school.

* * *

Puck's eyes scanned the long hallway to Quinn's locker, but he couldn't find her. He hadn't seen her all morning; not in the halls, not in Spanish and not even during her spare period. He'd almost given up hope of talking to her, when he saw a flash of blonde coming from the opposite side of the hallway. Even though his reflex was to watch after the girl (_I'm a dude. I have needs._), Puck knew instinctively that it wasn't Quinn. _Quinn doesn't bounce when she walks_, he thought, irrationally annoyed by the other blonde.

He turned to head to the nurse's office—since there really was no point in going to math class if Quinn wasn't there—when he spotted Rachel. It was hard to miss the tiny brunette when she was wearing a red and orange sweater dress that reached the middle of her thigh.

"Berry," Puck called to her. She turned around, obviously surprised that Puck wanted to speak with her. He jogged towards her, feeling unnaturally nervous. "Hey, um, do you know where Quinn is?" He asked uncertainly.

Rachel smiled widely. "Hello, Noah." Puck nodded impatiently. _Get to the point, Rachel. My question... _"I regret to inform you that Quinn was unable to come to school today, due to a terrible headache." Puck's eyes bulged. Noticing his concern, Rachel put her right hand up as though to silence the boy in front of her. "Relax." She smiled at him comfortingly. "It's not a big deal. She couldn't sleep at all last night, so she woke with a migraine this morning, much to her chagrin." She smiled pityingly at the thought of Quinn. "As I'm sure you're well aware, good rest is essential for anyone, especially someone as stressed out as Quinn." She added.

_Hasn't she been sleeping fine at Rachel's?_ Puck swallowed hard, causing Rachel to place a timid hand on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath and furrowing her eyebrows, she steeled herself before speaking again.

"Listen, I know that you're worried about Quinn." Puck looked down, his eyes showing his surprise at Rachel's perceptiveness. "Why don't you go see her?" Rachel asked softly.

"No way. I have some pride.'" He looked at Rachel with contempt. "Besides, it's not like I care. I just didn't see her all morning, so I was worried. About the baby." He quickly added, looking down at his feet again, ashamed at how lame he must seem. In front of Rachel freaking Berry. _Lame and pathetic and I might as well have my man-card revoked. _Rachel shook her head in annoyance and made a noise that sounded very much like a snort.

"Puck, you care about Quinn. Don't try denying it. I can tell." Puck scoffed, looking around to make sure no one had heard Rachel's remark. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you should put your foolish pride aside and, oh, I don't know...? Talk to her? Be a man. Own up to your feelings for her. You never know," she shrugged. Rachel was going to add that Quinn had feelings for Puck, but she knew it wasn't her secret to tell. She bit her tongue and just left the question hanging.

"Never know what?" He asked, his eyes a mixture of confusion and hope. _If Rachel knows something..._

"Nothing." Rachel rebuked herself internally, but kept talking. "But I still think that you should talk to her. She's alone, Puck. Her parents bailed on her, her sister isn't returning _any_ of her calls, Finn broke up with her, Santana and Brittany live in their own little world and coach Sylvester avoids her. Sure, she has me, but I know she'd trade me in, in a heartbeat for _someone_ else." Rachel let out a small laugh and looked at Puck knowingly. It was odd living with Quinn, especially when Rachel knew she grated on Quinn's already fragile nerves. But Quinn needed someone in her life who accepted her. _Take a hint, Puck. Quinn wants you. Not me._

Rachel's knowing look hadn't escaped Puck. He knew that Rachel was in on something. Feeling his heart rate rise considerably, he bit his cheeks to keep from smiling. Noticing the constipated expression on Puck's face, Rachel rolled her eyes and walked around him. She wasn't going to be late to her Debate Club meeting on account of him.

Puck sighed, wondering idly if what Rachel had hinted at was valid or not. Deciding that what she had said was in his best interest, he walked towards the exit. He didn't know what he was going to say to Quinn about Finn, but his mom's advice stuck with him: Quinn needed a family. A safety net that she could trust. And he was going to do whatever it took to make sure she had one.

* * *

Quinn's headache had been an excuse so she wouldn't have to go to school that day. She didn't want to see Puck and she knew that stepping foot into that school would make her crave his company. It was best to stay at Rachel's, sleep for most of the day and raid the Berrys' pantry. You know, avoid the temptation that was Noah Puckerman… the only person on earth who could make Quinn forget who she was and what she wanted.

She was currently ingesting some of the Berrys' marshmallows (which was the only unhealthy food they stocked) and was greedily smothering them in cream cheese. She was positively ravenous and, since no one was home, she didn't have to hold back and was literally stuffing her pretty face with empty calories.

She grabbed the bag of marshmallows, the cream cheese and a glass of orange juice before making her way back to her room. Before she even made it to the staircase, the doorbell rang. Quinn froze on the spot, her cheeks bulging due to the four marshmallows she had just jammed inside her mouth. She remained still, hoping that whoever was at the Berrys' door would go away if they thought that the house was empty.

To her regret, however, they banged against the door.

"Quinn!" She heard a familiar voice shout from outside. _Puck?_

Thinking fast, she tried swallowing the marshmallows. "Jufft a shecond!" Came her muffled yell. Quickly, she hid the marshmallows under the coffee table in the hall and the cream cheese in one of the drawers. She gulped down the rest of the orange juice and hid the empty glass in one of the planters. Hurriedly gathering her blond hair into a ponytail and smoothing out the wrinkles in her pajamas (_I really should have showered_), she opened the door.

Puck smiled when he saw Quinn.

"Hi," she greeted uncertainly.

"Hey," he answered. Quinn stepped aside, letting him through. "Nice jammies," Puck complimented.

"What do you want?" She questioned antagonistically. Really, Quinn had been looking forward to having a Puck-free day and for him to just show up like that… _Unless Rachel told him to come visit me_, Quinn realized. She shook her head lightly, making a mental note to smother Rachel in her sleep.

Puck looked at Quinn. Even wearing flannel pajamas, she managed to pull off her glare.

"I came by to make sure you were okay," he answered honestly. What was the point in lying to her when he wanted to show her he was trustworthy?

"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. I had a migraine this morning, but it went away." Quinn walked to the door and opened it, motioning to Puck that he should leave. Puck chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Listen Quinnie," Quinn clenched her jaw in annoyance. "I came here because you weren't at school for most of the day. Excuse me for worrying!" He said sarcastically.

Quinn bit the corner of her lip and avoided Puck's stare. Slowly, she closed the door. "Thank you for worrying," she said forcibly. She was going to be civil (again), but that didn't mean she had to like it. "But I'm perfectly fine. The baby is fine, too." She added instinctively.

"Good. I'm glad you're both okay," Puck leaned against the white walls in Rachel's house and took in the setting. Grinning, he contemplated how weird life had turned out since December. Hell, if you had told Puck back in October that Quinn would be living with Rachel, he would have punched you for lying to him. But, here he stood in Rachel's home… talking to Quinn.

"So what's it like living with Berry?" He asked, genuinely curious. He knew that Quinn couldn't stand Rachel and for her to live with her was mind-boggling.

"It's fine," Quinn replied offhandedly. "I sometimes wish Rachel would leave me alone, but her dads are great," she added honestly. They smiled at one another, both blushing slightly under the others' stare.

Quinn broke the tension, looking away. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay living here. I dunno..." Puck hesitated and Quinn looked up at him, again, one of her delicate eyebrows rising in alarm. Something inside her clicked and she worried that Puck was going to say something idiotic, ultimately ruining whatever moment they would have. "Don't you miss living at home?"

_Idiotic, insensitive and none of his business! _"My parents threw me out, Puck!" she practically yelled, her blonde ponytail swaying back and forth as she shook her head. _Is he really bringing_ that _up?_ "I can't just go back!"

"Maybe you should talk to them?" Puck said softly, his left hand rubbing the back of his neck, showing his unease. This wasn't easy for him either and if he wasn't careful, the whole thing could blow up in his face.

"What part of 'they threw me out' don't you understand? Don't you think I would have gone crawling back to my parents sooner if I believed they'd take me back?" Quinn's eyes welled with tears.

Puck winced when he saw her tears, but he had learned his lesson and kept his distance, ignoring the urge to cling to her. It wasn't easy telling her to "fuck 'em all", when he knew that deep down that's not what she wanted. Her parents really were the biggest douche bags in America and it sucked that Quinn still needed them.

"Well, maybe you should try... what's the harm, right?" He tried smiling, but his smile looked pained.

"Look, Puck." Quinn counted to ten internally. She wasn't about to start bawling in front of him again. "I actually don't mind living here. I like Rachel's dads, I love my bed," she argued, unable to meet his hazel eyes. "Rachel's a pain, sure, but even then she keeps me company." She finally met his eyes. "I'm never lonely."

"But that's not the point, Quinn," he said softly. "The point is, you need a family." With those gentle words, Quinn's face crumpled completely and Puck was at her side instantly.

For once he didn't care if she didn't want him to hold her; he did so anyway. He held her tight against his chest, feeling her tiny sobs as they forced their way out of her body, stroking her back comfortingly. Quinn allowed herself the luxury of being so close to him. She felt his hands stroke her hair, breathing in the smell of his sweatshirt—a mix of chlorine and fresh mown grass—remembering the night of their baby's conception, while Puck wondered if Quinn's tears were because of what he'd said or because of the baby.

While this moment felt too short to both of them, they stood like that for longer than was necessary, clinging to one another even after Quinn's sobs had calmed down and were replaced by her tiny sighs.

Him holding her.

It just worked.

* * *

They finally migrated to the Berrys' living room.

There they sat. Awkward glances, fidgeting hands and complete and total silence.

Puck took a long sip of his water and smiled at Quinn who was sitting across from him on the couch.

"I'm sorry if I was a dick."

"'If'?" Quinn asked, looking at him sideways, her eyebrow raised. Puck let out a small laugh, looking up at her sheepishly.

"Fine. I was a complete dick," he admitted.

Quinn rolled her eyes, a small smile dancing on her lips. "Don't worry about it. Lately everything makes me cry. Commercials, cars honking, the smell of coffee in the morning. I'm a mess."

"Are the hormones that bad?" Puck looked worried.

"Yes..." she said, looking up at the ceiling fan. "And no," she smiled, her gaze locking on him.

Puck stared at his hands. "Look, I know that you keep telling me that it's your mess and all of that BS, but the kid? _Our_ kid is half mine... making the choice mine, too. And, I gotta say, you're not doing what's good for our baby... or you," he bore his eyes into her.

Quinn shook her head, annoyed that Puck thought he had any say in where she lived. Clenching her jaw, she smiled as sweetly as she could at the father of her unborn kid.

"Again, why are you here?"

"I told you, I was worried and…" he got up from his chair and went to sit next to her on the opposite couch, a determined gleam in his hazel eyes. He tensed his jaw muscles before continuing. "I went to see Finn yesterday."

Quinn's head whipped around to face him, her left eyebrow rising instinctively, calling Puck's bluff.

"What?" The question was as silent as air being let out of a balloon.

Puck let out an exasperated breath, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his face, wondering how he could tell the girl he loved that she still had a shot with her ex-boyfriend. _He never loved her, but she loves him. He doesn't want her, but she wants him. Christ!_

"Yeah, I went to see Finn yesterday to clear the air." He answered as serenely as he could. He paused, lifting his head so he could gauge her reaction to what he was saying. She nodded once, signaling for him to continue. "And it went okay." He could practically feel the tension lift and heard Quinn's barely audible, 'Thank you, Jesus.'

"What did you talk about?" She asked gingerly. Quinn's selfish acts caused the baby drama, but she never meant for Puck or Finn's relationship to suffer. She hoped that Finn had forgiven Puck, that they made plans to shoot hoops one day after school, that their friendship was restored. What she didn't expect was what came out of Puck's mouth next.

"He told me that he never hated you. Ever." While Quinn felt immense relief at Puck's words, she noticed that his eyes were downcast as he spoke, his shoulders hunched and his voice forlorn. She never thought she'd want to kiss him more than she did at that moment.

She touched his arm, her fingers tingling at the feel of it.

"Puck? What about you and Finn? Are you…" she swallowed, afraid that his answer might not be one she wanted to hear. "Are you guys okay?"

Puck smiled softly, his eyes locked on Quinn's hand on his arm, mesmerized by Quinn's delicate fingers on his tanned arm. He lifted his gaze to her perfect face and nodded. Quinn couldn't contain her happiness at those words and the smile that spread on her face made Puck's mind swim in nostalgia. He thought of when they were kids, chasing one another in the playground. Her giggle making him feel instantly elated. He thought of when they were in the fourth grade and she would con him into pushing her on the swings, her bossy voice carrying with it a playful note that only Puck could detect. How could he refuse her? He thought of when they had a food fight in the school's home-ec room, her shrieks of joy mingling with his deep laugh.

Looking at her delicate fingers on his arm, he felt as though this was goodbye; though part of him held a conviction that his heart would always want her_. Would always need her._ But the rational part of his brain acknowledged that they were giving away their little girl. That she would go crawling back to Finn; they were perfect (_or at least near-perfect_, he thought bitterly); they deserved one another. Nothing would tie her to him, anymore.

Biting the bullet, he averted his eyes to hide his sadness. "So, are you going to talk to Finn?" He felt his heart stop, leaving a dull feeling in his chest.

Quinn laughed. "Why would I do that?" She stroked his arm absentmindedly, forgetting her hand's placement period. Her gentle caresses made the hair on Puck's arm stand on end; he would always be the one guy to get past her defenses and make Quinn forget who she was and what she wanted. Slowly, Puck felt as his heart sprung back to life painfully, swelling in his chest, filling him with this warm, happy feeling that overwhelmed him. _She's not desperate of getting back into Finn's life._

"I mean, I want to properly apologize to him, but…" she sighed, continuing. "I think we both need more time before we can ever have any kind of interaction."

Puck chuckled softly, thankful that his heart was beating again. Thankful that he was mistaken about Quinn's affection for Finn. Just… thankful.

Quinn continued stroking his arm distractedly, until she saw the awed expression on Puck's face as he stared at her hand. Thinking back to her conversation with Rachel from the previous night, there was no denying that the look on Puck's face, the one that made Quinn's heart flutter happily like a butterfly's wings, was full of tenderness.

Immediately withdrawing her hand, her body became stiff. Puck noticed this change and the spot where she had been stroking felt numb. Hurt, he rolled his shoulders and leaned away from her. _There's no winning with her._

Quinn cleared her throat. "Was there anything else you wanted to say? I mean, we got pretty sidetracked with the good news…" she pursed her lips contemplatively, shrugging a single shoulder.

Realizing that whatever moment they'd just had was gone forever, Puck resigned himself to having another awkward conversation with his baby mama. He rolled his eyes at the situation, but Quinn thought it was directed at her. Annoyed with Puck's demeanor and _eye rolling_, Quinn turned her body away from his, ultimately blocking him off, glaring at the coffee table.

He took another deep breath, dreading having to bring up Quinn's family situation… again. "I… uh… I wanted to remind you that we're family." His voice was gruff, but Quinn could hear the sincerity in his tone. She smiled (her eyes still glued to the coffee table), his words having melted some of her hostility.

"Thanks." She turned to smile at him shyly.

"You know, we can go to your parents' house and see if they'll take you back?" He offered reluctantly. "I'll stay with you the whole time," he offered gently. She looked into his eyes and could detect nothing but his sincerity.

Quinn deliberated his offer for a moment, lacing her delicate fingers over her right kneecap. She bit her lip contemplatively, weighing her options. _Mom and Dad don't know that Puck's the real father, but I do need to be __honest with them. Maybe then they'll understand. Who am I kidding?_ She thought laughingly. _If I confess that I slept with Puck, they'll be even more ashamed of me for having lied to them _and_ Finn._

Puck watched Quinn as she struggled with making a decision, feeling slightly impatient with her indecision.

"Quinn, I know your sister hasn't returned any of your calls." She turned to glare at him. _Rachel is such a blabbermouth!_ "But if you don't go to your parents' house, how do you know that they don't care about what's going on in your life?"

"Because." She stated stubbornly, hating that her little girl had decided to start 'knocking' just then.

"Have you tried calling? Emailing? Talking to your mom?" Puck listed off his fingers.

Quinn crossed her arms, trying to stop the little girl from kicking so much.

"No. I told you. They threw me out, Puck. They can't get any clearer. They don't want me." She stared right into Puck's hazel eyes, hating the fact that he seemed to know every one of her insecurities. "It's not like they've tried contacting me, anyway."

Puck winced a bit at her words. He'd neglected that small part.

It was a long time before either of them spoke again, but the small stranger inside Quinn kept kicking away. Puck finally broke the silence as he stood to leave.

"I'm sorry I came over," he said insincerely. "But you really should stop being so stubborn. Every time we see one another, we argue. _Seriously_. You should go to your parents' house. What's the worst that could happen?"

With that small, innocent question, Quinn envisioned an encounter with her parents. She pictured her parents; anger, resentment, accusations. A stuffy living room with the hint of gin and tonic in the air. She didn't really like the prospect. She felt Puck's hand grab hers and she turned her head slowly to meet his eyes.

"I can't," she whispered, her eyes imploring him to respect her decision as he'd respected her in the past.

"Quinn, I know your parents were… idiots for kicking you out, but you can't stay here forever. You need new clothes, you need money… We're doing okay right now, but eventually we'll need more help."

Their eyes met again and she nodded. _What's the worst that can happen?_ She wondered half-heartedly.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ Again, thanks so so much for reading and I apologize profusely for having posted this a day late!


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:**_ So originally, this story was EIGHT chapters long, but with all of the revisions (and extra scenes... *facepalm*) I'm doing, I think it will actually come to nine chapters and an epilogue. It's funny, reading through this story, a few of these characters are getting a mind of their own and are doing, saying things I didn't write originally (those bastids, haha!). In any case, I really hope that you guys like the revisions/additions. I have to admit that I prefer _this _version of chapter eight over the previous one I wrote. Go figure.

Also, I really appreciate all of the reviews, favourites, alerts! You guys make me smile. Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

The following Saturday morning, Rachel and Quinn sat in the Berrys' den, looking for information on adoption centres in Ohio. So far, Quinn had rejected three of the centres and it seemed as though she was about to reject yet another one.

Rachel furtively looked at Quinn. "Quinn," she began, worried that whatever she said next would make Quinn snap at her. Again. For what would be the twelfth time that morning alone. (Rachel was keeping count.) Quinn perked her head up, one of her thin eyebrows raised. "Why don't you just make an appointment with Allen County Children Services? Or at least wait until you can talk this over with Noah?"

Quinn leaned back in her chair, her graceful arms hugging her abdomen.

"Think about it," Rachel continued. "Rather than decide the fate of your unborn child too rashly, you would be with someone who will equally be affected by the choice. Besides, I happen to know that the reason why you can't make up your mind just yet is because your conscience is eating away at you for excluding Noah. I know. I'm psychic." She gave Quinn a pointed look, already considering the matter closed.

Ordinarily, Quinn would have rolled her eyes, muttering how idiotic Rachel sounded just loud enough for her to understand. But now that she had lived with Rachel for a total of one week and two days (Quinn had been keeping a tally…), she had learned to filter most of the things Rachel said and merely answered her, instead.

"Or I could always just hire a lawyer…" she answered, nodding her head slowly, as though explaining something difficult to someone _very_ dense. "Like, your dad, for example."

Quinn's tone of voice and exaggerated body movements weren't lost on Rachel. Having lived with Quinn for over a week had taught her that a death-glare was often more successful than words. She glared at Quinn then, not amused in the slightest with her attitude.

Noticing Rachel's expression, Quinn smiled lightly, relishing the fact that she had managed to silence her so easily. She sighed, unable to fully appreciate her victory because she knew that Rachel was right. Not including Puck in the decision-making was making her indecisive. Granted, Quinn Fabray suffered from indecision every day of her young life, but that was neither here nor there.

"I guess I'll talk to Puck about it later." Quinn said softly, ignoring Rachel's glare. She looked up, still avoiding Rachel's eyes. "Could you help me get in touch with Allen County Children Services, though?"

"That's what I'm here for, Quinn." Rachel smiled. Tentatively, she placed one of her small hands over Quinn's. "I'm your friend."

Quinn's green eyes met Rachel's brown ones and neither could stop themselves from smiling.

"Thanks, Rachel." Quinn may have been without a family, without a home, but she could count on the glee club and its members for support. Rachel in particular had stepped up since December. And Puck... _Puck's exceeding all of my expectations._

"I'll, uh… I'll talk to Puck," she added, smiling awkwardly. Hearing those words spring from Quinn's mouth, Rachel beamed. She knew that she was responsible for this turn of events and was feeling quite smug.

Rachel Berry could now add matchmaker to her list of accomplishments. Maybe she'd write about it in her memoirs someday.

* * *

Puck rolled over to look at his alarm clock. _9:39 AM_. It was early on a Saturday morning for him, but he had promised to pick Quinn up at 10:30, so, rather than roll back onto his stomach and fall back asleep, he got up and got ready for the day ahead.

To say that Puck was nervous was an understatement. He knew that Quinn wasn't keen on meeting with her parents today and the truth was Puck was terrified that it wouldn't go well. And if it didn't go well, it would fall on him. And if it fell on him, he knew that his chances with Quinn would be slimmer than they already were. _I'm screwed._

Sure, he'd tried convincing Quinn to be a family with him, but he knew that Quinn didn't trust him. Having her trust him enough to agree to meet with her parents was a huge step in their relationship. He sighed, putting on his jeans, muttering the day's game plan to himself to steady his nerves.

"Pick-up at 10:30. Meet with douche bags. Drive Quinn to lunch. Again. Pick-up at 10:30. Meet with douche bags. Drive Quinn to lunch. One more time. Pick up at 10:30..."

Sliding on his deodorant, it occurred to him that his relationship with Quinn had improved greatly since she'd moved in with Rachel. For one, after their talk that previous Friday, Quinn had agreed to let him pick her up from Lamaze class again. Sure, he wasn't driving her to and from school, but Lamaze was a start. And she didn't argue whenever he sat next to her in glee club.

Then there was that smile she kept giving him whenever she thought he wasn't looking. He shook his head soundly. _Fuck, Puckerman! Something is wrong with you. You're growing a man-gina. _He looked at his reflection and gave himself a look of disdain. _Pathetic._

He pulled his t-shirt on and glanced at the time. _9:47 AM. Plenty of time to get some grub_.

As he walked downstairs to the kitchen, he wondered what Quinn would choose to do with their little girl. In the past he'd been vocal about wanting to be _with_ Quinn and be a family (_How more obvious does 'I wanna be with you' get?_), but he knew that wasn't gonna happen. Sure, she'd calmed down when he'd reminded her that the baby was half-his, making the choice half-his, too, but...

"Hello, Noah," his mother greeted him as he took the milk out of the refrigerator, startling him.

"Mom!" he almost dropped the milk. "What's going on? I thought you worked late last night. You shouldn't be up so early."

"I couldn't sleep," she smiled. "I haven't been to bed yet."

Puck looked down. Was his mom losing sleep because of him? _Wow, I'm a turd._

"What are _you_ doing up so early, hmmm?" Sarah asked with a smile. "This is strange behaviour, even for you. Normally you're sneaking back _in_ at this hour."

"I have plans," he replied, pouring his cereal into a bowl.

"Who with?"

"Quinn." He answered quickly. "We're going to her parents'. See if she can move back in."

Sarah smiled into her cup of coffee, as Puck went to sit across from her. She set her mug down, examining the contents and let out a small laugh.

"You know, when you were younger, it always amazed me that you were so attached to Quinn. Even more than you were with Finn." She stared at him, watching as he scooped bits of cereal into his mouth. "Hell, I even put up with Russell because of your friendship to her! That man is a piece of work." She added, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" He asked, bits of cereal falling out of his mouth.

She sighed heavily, realizing that she shouldn't have said anything to her temperamental son. He looked at her pointedly, urging her to continue. She rose, refilling her coffee, and leaned against the countertop to look back at him.

"Well, let's just say that Russell was a cad," she said reluctantly. Noticing the 'huh?' expression on Puck's face, she chuckled, setting her cup down. "You know, he was... Oh, Noah! Do I really have to spell it out for you?" She asked, throwing her hands in the air.

"Well, ma, I'm kinda taking Quinn to see her parents today," he answered with a hint of sarcasm. "Besides, _you _brought it up. How bad was Mr Fabray?" He frowned.

"Well," she let out an exasperated breath. This was not an easy thing to talk about... "Russell was flirtatious. You know, flirty?"

"I know what flirtatious is, mom!" Puck answered, annoyed.

"Anyway, that's why you stopped having your play-dates with Quinn. Do you remember? It was just after your dad left?"

Puck nodded, remembering that his play-dates with Quinn had been the one highlight in his life after his deadbeat dad left a gaping hole in his life. After he left, there wasn't much that would cheer Puck up, but Quinn and her bad-ass ideas. They'd once snuck out of the Fabray house and had walked to the McDonald's five blocks over, conning the staff into giving them ice cream on account of them getting "lost" from their mothers. Sure, it had gotten both of them in serious trouble, but it had helped Puck forget about his dad... at least for a little while.

But soon after that, Puck's mom stopped taking him over to Quinn's and Mrs Fabray stopped calling. The only times that he and Quinn saw one another after that was at school and birthday parties. Puck pretended not to care, he was in grade four, after all, and ten year-olds are too old for play-dates, but he missed Quinn. He had always figured that the reason why their play-dates stopeed was because of the stunt they'd pulled at the McDonald's, but now he was learning that it was because Quinn's dad, the one man that actually intimidated Puck (_Have you seen the guy's guns? No, literally... he has a collection of firearms in his den... it freaks me out!)_, was a dick and tried something with his own mother? Puck saw red.

"Did that asshole try something?" he asked, rising from his chair, ready to kick some ass.

"Noah, sit down." She shook her head, walking back to her chair to sit across from her son. "No, he didn't, but he suggested that we _do_ something after your father left. I always ignored him. Like I said, I knew that Quinn was important to you. But after your dad left, he got... more difficult to deal with. That's when I decided to confront Judy about it, but..." she shrugged. "She preferred to believe her husband and kicked me out of their house. That was the end of your play-dates with Quinn."

Puck swallowed hard. How could Mr Fabray be that much of a hypocrite? The man preached about good "Christian" values, but he went and hit on Puck's mom?_ Hell. No._

"Noah, please don't say anything to him or Quinn when you go to their house. I only told you because Russell is a snake. He'll pretend that everything is fine, but..."

"But he'll be planning something." His mother nodded. "I get it."

He took his dirty dishes to the sink, remembered to rinse them and stuck them in the dishwasher. Before he left the kitchen, he turned to his mom one last time.

"You meant it, didn't you?"

She nodded, knowing exactly what Puck was referring to. "Quinn is family, Noah. And that baby," she chuckled. "Is a miracle. It brought you and Quinn together again after how many years? It's not ideal, but everything happens for a reason."

Puck shifted uncomfortably, leaning his body weight against one of the chairs. _Do I tell her?_ He took a deep breath and buried his hands in his pockets. He blew the air out, and finally 'fessed up.

"Uh, just so you know," he said, furrowing his brows. "The baby is a girl."

He watched as his mother's eyebrows raised and her lips twitched. Finally she let out a happy sigh, her eyes brimming with tears. She buried her head in her hands and Puck saw her grey hair glisten in the sunlight that filtered in through the kitchen window. Awkwardly, he shuffled over to her and placed an uncertain hand on her right shoulder. Almost immediately, her left hand reached up to hold his and she squeezed, sobbing quietly in the kitchen.

She lifted her tear-stained face to look at her boy and Puck saw a look of pure joy on her face. She swallowed and gave one last tremulous breath.

"Tell her what I said about being family, Noah. She has to know that she can count on me, okay? Count on both of us."

Puck nodded, finally leaving the kitchen to meet Quinn and face the Dudley Road douchebags. _Oh joy._

_

* * *

**A/N:**_ Again, thanks so much for reading! You guys make my day!


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N: _**Thanks so much everyone for all of your amazing reviews, alerts, favourites, etc! This is the first fic I ever wrote and it's been quite the experience.

Anyway, this is the final chapter of Sick Muse, but I'm currently debating whether or not to write an epilogue. Let me know what you think, since I'm at a loss on what to do. Part of me wants to, but there's a part of me that is okay with how I ended things. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Thanks again for reading!

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

Puck swung by to pick up Quinn at 10:27 am that Saturday. When Rachel greeted him at the door, there was no mistaking that the girl was smirking. She knew full well that Puck was never on time, but he made an exception for Quinn. _Interesting_.

"What's up, Berry?" He asked with a half-smile, arching one eyebrow suggestively. He lowered his voice. "Did you have a dirty dream last night?"

"Excuse me?" Rachel scoffed, clearly offended that her pride at playing matchmaker was greeted by Puck's crass attitude. "I'll have you know, Puckerman," the brunette pointed a finger in Puck's face. "That I am in an excellent mood today because I was able to complete my rigorous workout routine in under 45 minutes and was therefore able to enjoy my fathers' company before they had to leave abruptly for their day at the spa. As you may or may not know, my fathers, a doctor and a lawyer, are supremely busy six of the seven days of the week..." Rachel kept talking, but Puck checked out of the conversation the moment he saw Quinn come down the stairs. He stepped around Rachel and entered the house, not even waiting for an invitation.

Ordinarily, Rachel would've been insulted by Puck's behaviour, but since Puck was acting this way because he had just seen Quinn, she forgave his rudeness. She sighed contentedly, smiling smugly once more, and shut the front door.

"Hey," Puck greeted Quinn, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He clenched his jaw and smiled up at her.

"Hi," Quinn answered quietly. Rachel rolled her eyes at the two of them. _Puh-leeze. All of this shyness is unnecessary! They've seen one another naked._

She cleared her throat. "Noah, Quinn has something she wants to say to you." Quinn quickly glared at Rachel, then turned to look sheepishly at Puck. Rachel smiled at the couple before her and shrugged her jacket on. "As for me, I am leaving to help Finn with his homework. He still doesn't have the necessary 2.5 GPA that he needs in order to play basketball this season—speaking of which, Noah, how is your GPA this semester?"

Quinn and Puck gave Rachel an incredulous look. Smiling apologetically, Rachel took the hint. She grabbed her backpack and keys, waving back at them sweetly, as she shut the door behind her. _At least they're allied against me_, she thought as she walked away from her house, still smiling smugly.

"What's this you need to tell me?" Puck asked Quinn the moment Rachel left, a smile tugging on his lips.

Quinn wet her lips and smiled back at him, shaking her head softly. "Nothing. I'd rather get our visit to my parent's house out of the way first."

"Okay," he responded, clenching his jaw once more before smiling. He walked out of the Berry's house, as Quinn gathered her purse and jacket. When he turned back to see if she was following him or not, he caught that smile on her face again; he felt the familiar fluttering in his stomach—the one that made him want to vomit and sing at the same time. Acting on reflex, he did the first thing that came to mind: yell at her to hurry up.

"Jesus, Fabray! You think I have all day?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. She was expecting this. After all, she was dealing with Puck. She tried glaring at him as she walked briskly towards the car, but couldn't shake the feeling she got when she was with him. She shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips before she even reached him. He responded with one of his smirks.

"Princess," he said as he opened the passenger door, bowing and waving his arm dramatically. Quinn laughed, sliding inside gracefully, and mumbled her thanks.

Puck shut the door and slowly walked around to his side. He stalled a little as he figured out a way to bring up what his mom had said to him; about maybe being a family. If he wasn't mistaken, his mom wasn't completely against the kid they were expecting... Come to think of it, she seemed fucking happy about the little girl. But, given his track record, this was not a good conversation to have with his baby mama. She'd shut him down on more than one occasion and his pride was suffering. No one said 'no' to Puck if he could help it.

He slid in beside her, still smiling, and nodded.

"Showtime."

* * *

Their drive to Dudley Road was completely silent. Puck knew better than to mention his conversation with his mom during their drive; Quinn was already nervous, so why add to her anxiety? He took his eyes off the road to look at the girl next to him. She was currently wringing her hands in her lap, taking deep calming breaths every so often. He wondered if the breathing was something she'd learned in Lamaze. Smiling to himself, he hesitated, as he reached for her hand.

"Chill." He said simply.

Upon feeling his touch, Quinn's anxiety dissipated and was replaced with surprise. She smiled at the simplicity in his gesture and didn't pull her hand away. She took one last shaky breath and settled comfortably against her seat, letting Puck clutch her cold hand the rest of the drive, while their little girl did somersaults in her womb. Even she knew how important this meeting was.

Quinn knew that Puck was right. She couldn't live off of the charity of her friends; she needed her parents more than they could ever imagine. She loved them so much, though she didn't have a clue how they felt about her. Today was the day she'd come face-to-face with reality... whether she wanted to or not.

Puck turned onto Dudley Road, squeezing her hand a tiny bit. He parked the car in front of the Fabrays' house and he turned to give Quinn a lopsided grin.

"Ready?" He scratched his mohawk nervously. Quinn bit her lip, looking at her parents' house with wide eyes. Puck saw as determination overruled her uneasy feelings, making her green eyes flash. She nodded once, not even looking at him. As if on cue, they both pushed their doors open and got out.

Quinn stood beside the car, neglecting to shut the car door, as she stared up at the house. So many memories came flooding back, overwhelming her. Puck walked around towards her (_This could go so so so wrong._), took her hand in his again, and shut the door. She faced him, staring into his hazel eyes, looking for strength. He smiled, rising his eyebrows at her teasingly, as if to say _You're Quinn mother-fucking Fabray_. She worried her lip once more but managed to give him a shaky smile.

"Just give me a sec."

He nodded, "Take all the time you need."

She'd never heard him speak so softly. Something about the tone calmed her. He was so crass ninety percent of the time, but on the rare occasion he was on his best behaviour, he was capable of anything. He leaned against his car, crossing his arms as he waited for her, pursing his lips in a worried fashion. He turned his head to look down the road, giving Quinn some privacy.

She stared up at her house, remembering the last time she'd been there. Remembered Finn tightly pressing her suitcase against his chest like a shield. Gripping it as though he feared that dropping it would mean detonating another bomb. He'd shifted on his feet uncomfortably, waiting for Quinn to finish pleading with her mother. Finally he'd had enough of her begging, knowing it would change nothing, and he put a firm hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her away.

Quinn remembered her throat closing in on itself, making it so very hard to breathe. Constricting to the point where she felt as though she'd never be able to speak again. And when she did speak, her voice wasn't really her own. The voice was wheezy and high pitched; the voice of a coward, begging for one more chance. Quinn Fabray wasn't a coward, but whoever was speaking for her was.

She had been so scared, so weak, that her own parents didn't recognize her.

She blinked, letting two stray tears fall down her cheeks. She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes and breathed a shaky breath. _It's going to be fine_, she reminded herself once more_._

She finally tore her eyes off her parent's house and looked at Puck. She watched as he scuffed the pavement with his shoe, his hands buried deep in his pockets. An unreadable expression on his face as he waited for her to collect herself. No rushing, no fear, no firm gentleness. Instead, she found patience, courage, and a quiet resilience. Quinn smiled to herself, going to stand in front of him. He leaned back a bit, as Quinn straddled his legs, taken aback by this sudden proximity. He cocked his head to the side, smiling at the girl before him. Leaning forward, Quinn's lips met his in a soft kiss. Puck immediately relaxed into the kiss, putting his arms around Quinn's waist. Quinn pulled back after a few moments and when she did, Puck's lips puckered forward, trying to stay in contact with her mouth.

She smiled at his reaction and whispered, "I'm ready," sliding her hand in his.

They walked to the front door quickly, both knowing that the sooner they entered the house, the sooner they'd leave.

They stood on the front porch awkwardly, neither brave enough to ring the bell. Finally, Puck rang the doorbell and waited for the door to open, rocking on the balls of his feet in anticipation, Quinn's hand still tightly gripped in his. He turned to look at her, as she nervously fidgeted with her hands. She met Puck's eyes and bit her lip. Without a word, Puck grabbed her free hand and gave them a comforting squeeze. Quinn responded with a small smile.

The door swung open, making both teens jump, and Judy Fabray, tall, slender and graceful, was on the threshold; her eyes popped when she saw her youngest on her doorstep. Quinn and Puck immediately unlatched their hands, staring at the woman in front of them. She smiled, pulling Quinn into a hug. When she registered who Quinn was with, her smile twitched for a millisecond.

"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!" she kept repeating, her voice dripping with emotion. "Quinn!" She pulled away, examining her daughter. Her green eyes grew when they saw the bulge in her middle.

"Hi, mom," Quinn said softly, fighting the urge to cry as uncertainty filled her with dread.

"Please, come in!" Judy Fabray urged. Looking at Puck again, she added. "You, too, Noah! My goodness! I haven't seen you since Quinn's fourteenth birthday party!"

Puck stepped in after the mother and daughter, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"Yep," he answered with his mom-winning smile. _Time to turn on the charm, Puckarone_. "That was a while ago," he added stupidly. _Smooth..._

"That's right," Judy replied smiling warmly at the boy. "You didn't have a mohawk back then…" she finished with a wink at her daughter. "Please, follow me to the living room."

Quinn and Puck looked at one another. Both wondered why the older woman was so friendly and welcoming when her husband was sure to give Quinn the swift kick in the behind again if he came home to find his pregnant daughter in his home.

"Uh, mom?" Quinn asked, following her mother to the living room. "Where's dad?"

Judy's face fell for a moment, before extending her arm, motioning for both Puck and Quinn to sit. The teens' eyes locked again and they sat in the couch, much like Quinn and Finn had sat not too long ago. Quinn realized the contrast between that situation and the one in which she found herself now. Then, her parents had found out through Finn that she was carrying a child, but now it would be her turn to come clean. She turned to look at Puck, realizing how this boy had given her a choice, while Finn had made the decision for them, deciding her fate. She had never been so grateful for having Puck in her life. He met her gaze and shifted uncomfortably. His eyes darting all over the place as though he expected her father to jump out at any moment.

Realizing that the man wasn't home, Puck looked back at Quinn, giving her a lopsided grin. Slowly turning his head away from Quinn, Puck faced Judy.

"Mrs Fabray, where's Mr Fabray?"

Judy cleared her throat, but finally answered.

"Mr Fabray is not home." She said, ironing out the wrinkles in her dress. Looking at Quinn, she added in a matter of fact tone, "Your father left me."

An audible gasp was heard and Quinn covered her mouth, remembering where she was. It wasn't proper for her to express her surprise. She swallowed hard, fighting to keep the contents of her stomach down. She felt the walls close in on her, water filling her green eyes. Taking a shallow breath, she finally mustered the strength to ask, "Why?" _Did I cause this?_

Her mother smiled sweetly, blinking her eyes furiously to keep her emotions at bay. She swallowed hard before answering. "He left me for another woman. Lemonade?"

Quinn open and shut her mouth, unable to form coherent thoughts and finally voice the questions that nagged at her. She gaped at her mother, shaking her loose curls as she shook her head, furiously trying to make her mother's statements untrue. Finally, she looked up and met her mother's eyes.

"No, I don't think you understand," Quinn pressed, her words barely coming out. Puck stared at her, worried that this was too much for her to take. Given what he'd learned about her hormones and her deal with crying at the drop of a hat, he panicked. _She can't get too excited_, he realized. "Was it because of me?" she breathed.

Her mother's overly sweet expression softened immediately upon hearing these words.

"No, Quinnie, no." Her mother insisted. She glanced at Puck, registered his neutral expression, and kept talking. "Turns out your father had been seeing this… this… woman for a while." Judy's bitter voice stung Quinn. She once thought the world of her father, but after he threw her out, she'd reluctantly come to terms with how horrible he really was. But knowing that he later abandoned her mother for some... woman... Quinn couldn't believe it.

_Figures_, Puck thought bitterly. _I find out that the douche tried screwing with my mom and he goes and does this to Quinn. _He shook his head bitterly, realizing that what Mr Fabray had done wasn't bad-ass... it was just bad. He hurt his family, he hurt his rep... He looked at Quinn and Mrs Fabray. _Does he even love them?_, he wondered. He thought back to the times he'd sext Santana or juggled more than one Cheerio at a time. He'd never stopped to think how it affected them, but witnessing Quinn's breakdown, was too much. He stood, ignoring Quinn's panicked look, and immediately started pacing.

"Who?" Quinn practically yelled, tearing her eyes away from Puck to look at her mother. "How could he do this to you?"

"Shh, Quinnie," her mother looked at her sternly. "Not in front of company." She looked pointedly at the pacing teen, who in turn glared at her. Puck couldn't believe how completely cool Mrs Fabray was behaving. _Can't she see that Quinn's, like, freaking out?_

"Mrs Fabray," Puck said, as he stopped pacing, still glaring at the woman before him. He'd never seen Quinn act so out of control, but he figured too much of her world had fallen apart for her to readily accept that her father would no longer be in her life.

"Quinn deserves an answer." He shook his head. "You let your husband kick her out and then you let him walk out on you without calling Quinn? Asking her... no, _begging _her to come home?" Judy looked down, unable to meet Puck's incredulous eyes anymore. "She deserves one straight answer. If you'd like, I can leave." He made a motion to leave.

Quinn turned to look at him, worried that he'd already disappeared. Her green eyes pleading with him to stay. He nodded once, realizing that Quinn needed him there. He had promised to stay with her, after all. Besides, there was no way he was leaving her alone with her mother.

"Oh, no, Noah, that's not necessary," Judy answered, still not meeting his even stare. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, focusing solely on her daughter. She tried to smile. "I'm surprised you hadn't heard of it, Quinnie, seeing as Lima is full of gossips."

"I haven't been going to church, mom," Quinn retorted icily. Puck nearly laughed when he saw Mrs Fabray's reaction.

"Are you sure I can't get you any lemonade?" Judy asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, mom… When did this happen? When did he leave?" Quinn pleaded. Judy smoothed her skirt once more, stalling. She sat up straighter, crossing her ankles beneath her chair.

"A-about a month ago." Judy stammered. She looked uncomfortably at Puck, but kept talking. "He found out I'd been trying to..." she looked at her hands uncomfortably. "To... get in touch with you."

She lifted her head, finally meeting her daughter's questioning eyes.

Her mother's words did nothing to relieve the pain Quinn felt in her chest. Her own father left her mother because she showed concern for her...? How much did he loathe her for making one mistake?

Judy's gaze faltered under Quinn's pained expression and she looked at her hands once more.

Puck, however, looked at Quinn, a soft smile gracing his features. _I was right._ As though feeling his stare, Quinn's tear-filled eyes locked on Puck. She felt as relief washed over him, somehow affecting her, as the weight bearing down on her heart lessened. She didn't return his smile, but he knew that she would be okay.

More tears meandered down Quinn's cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them. Why hide the fact that what was going on around her hurt? She brushed a blond strand of hair behind an ear, her eyes glazed over in fresh tears. She looked down at her hands. "Really?"

Her mother gave a curt nod, but her eyes filled with hope.

"I called the school to see how you were doing." She said awkwardly, clearing her throat. Quinn looked at Puck, unsure of what to make of this. Licking his lips nervously, he made his way back to sit next to her. "The, uh... only person who I knew to contact was Coach Sylvester. She told me that you were still excelling in school and," she smiled softly, her eyes meeting Quinn's. "And that you had won the show choir competition!" Her head involuntarily turned towards Puck, but she kept speaking. "When she hinted that you literally had nowhere to go, your father came in. He'd caught the last bits of my conversation. I thanked Coach Sylvester, but it..." she sighed. "Your father was livid. He accused me of disrespecting him and that's when... that's when he admitted to having a mistress."

"All of this happened last month?" Quinn stitched her thin brows together, her lips pouting in confusion.

"Yes." Judy's eyes darted between Puck and Quinn. She quirked an eyebrow when she noticed Quinn's hand tucked delicately in Puck's. She looked between them and they instantly let go of one another's hands, both looking away awkwardly.

"Quinn, is there something you want to tell me?" She asked, not unkindly.

Puck clenched his jaw and shrugged, looking at the girl beside him. _It's now or never._

Quinn stared back at him and licked her lips nervously. _It's now or never,_ she mused, echoing his thoughts. Nervously stroking her stomach, Quinn reluctantly met her mother's green eyes.

"Mom, Finn was right," she said softly.

"About?"

"When he told you that we hadn't done it," she stalled. "He was being honest." She looked at Puck again, somehow gathering strength from his presence. "He and I never had sex."

"But then how…?" Judy looked at Quinn's protruding stomach. A look of recognition grew on her face and she understood. "Noah?" Her gaze turned to look at Puck.

Quinn nodded, feeling ashamed again. She sniffled and released a shaky breath.

Judy swallowed hard. She rubbed her temples, trying to ease the tension she now felt. Finally, she looked back up at Puck and Quinn, a look of determination on her face. She stared at Quinn, her eyes scanning over her daughter's frame.

Her mother's scrutiny added pressure to the guilt that rested in the girl's chest and Quinn felt as more tears left a cool trail down her cheeks.

Judy drew a breath at last and cleared her throat.

"I appreciate your honesty, Quinn." She managed to smile at the teens. She looked at Puck sadly, remembering how active and mischievous Puck had been as a child. Had he taken advantage of her little girl? She thought back to when she first met Noah... Quinn talked of little else at home, so when she finally met the curly haired boy, she was immediately taken by how adoringly he looked at Quinn. Sure, he pushed her off of swings, called her names and terrorized his second-grade teacher, but when Judy caught him looking at Quinn... she could see his admiration for her. No. Noah hadn't taken advantage of Quinn. Even now, as he kept stealing glances at her daughter, Judy could see how much he cared for her. Their situation _would_ have been romantic... if it weren't for the fact that they were both sixteen and confused. And that one of them was her baby... her little girl.

"You're so confused, Quinn." Judy bit her lip, a trait that Quinn had picked up from her. "I think you should come home, sweetie," she added softly.

Unable to believe her mother, Quinn turned to look at Puck, as he grasped her hand again. He didn't meet her eyes, so she didn't notice the dejected look on his face.

"We both need to rely on one another. We're all we've got." Her mother finished, dabbing at her eyes.

Not knowing what else to say, let alone trusting that this encounter wasn't a dream, Quinn finally breathed out a simple "Thank you."

Judy walked towards her and Quinn stood, letting herself get tucked into her mother's arms.

"I love you, Quinnie," she said into Quinn's hair. She pulled back and smiled at Puck. "Thank you, Noah, for coming with Quinn. I know it was probably hard for her to face me, again."

Puck nodded. "Yeah. Of course," he replied, not lifting his head to meet either women's eyes.

* * *

Judy and Quinn agreed that she'd move in the following day. In a small way, Quinn was sad about leaving Rachel's. The Berrys treated her respectfully and did everything they could to make her feel at home. But, more importantly, she was afraid that if her dad ever returned, she would be out on the street again. She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts, and chose to focus on the houses they drove past; blurring together with the landscape to make indiscernible shapes.

Both Puck and Quinn were silent on the drive back. Quinn felt sheepish and couldn't quite shake the feeling that Puck was upset with her. He was quieter than usual and hadn't made a single crass comment since they left Rachel's that morning. Something felt... off. Timidly, she turned her head to look at him.

"There's something we need to talk about…" She said, noticing that her voice sounded thick. "About my decision. Well, _our _decision," she added, clearing her throat.

Puck's hand tightened on the steering wheel and Quinn saw the muscle in his jaw twitch nervously. "About?"

They stopped at a light and neither knew how to continue; both focusing on their own insecurities, rather than pushing forward to find a solution. Quinn's thoughts raced as she thought of Puck's indifference, her confusion, Rachel's ability to help her despite the fact that she'd been terrible to her in the past… so many different perspectives. She felt as though she understood Puck, Finn and Rachel's emotions more than she understood her own. Like her mom had said, she was confused. Sixteen and pregnant and unable to identify exactly what she was feeling. How could anyone expect her to care for someone when she hardly knew herself? Understood her needs? Knew what was best for her…?

Puck clenched and unclenched his jaw, feeling as the tension grew thick around him. It was now or never.

He knew that this moment would either make or break his relationship with Quinn (_Or whatever the hell we have_). He knew that he should tell her exactly what he thought of her plans to move back in with her mom. Come clean about all that was congested in his constricting chest: all of his unspoken thoughts, worries and needs… all of them centred around a blonde with green eyes who wore a gold cross dangling on a thin gold chain. If anything, he would give anything to at least be in the room when his little girl was born.

The light changed and he kept driving. His thoughts swirled in his head, bumping and contradicting one another as though he were two people instead of one. Mrs Fabray had said that Quinn was confused, but he was just as fucked up as Quinn.

He smiled, as his thoughts started to clear. He _loved_ Quinn. The way he felt when he was with her was magnified when she was missing. Her smile literally lifting his withering spirits. He knew that he should feel embarrassed about these thoughts, but all he could focus on was the fact that he needed to tell Quinn how he felt. Make her see that maybe they did have a future. That even after their daughter was taken by strangers, that they would be bound by her.

He cleared his throat and Quinn startled. "Quinn, I need to be honest."

Quinn's hands gripped her seat for support. She nodded quickly, encouraging Puck to keep talking.

"I get that you wanna give her up. But," he hesitated, unsure of what Quinn would make of it. "I want you to know that I'm not afraid. I know I'm 16, in high school, unemployed, whatever... but," he swallowed, turning to look at her. "I'm ready to help you. Like a real man." His gaze returned to the road ahead. There was a beat and he continued. "My mom... she knows that the baby's a girl. I told her this morning," Quinn's sudden mutism startled him, but Puck decided that now was the time to bare it all. "She wanted me to remind you that you're not alone. If anything, you have more support than anyone. You have glee club, Berry, my mom and well... you have me, Quinn." He turned to look at her, willing her to speak. When she remained quiet, he trudged on. "And... I was also wondering... would it be too much to ask if…" he pursed his lips, eyes focusing on the road, suddenly timid.

"If what…?" Quinn asked through pale lips.

"... If I help you out?" A small smile formed on Quinn's lips. "Y'know, with Lamaze, the delivery… Everything."

"Yeah," Quinn managed, hesitating a little. Her heart raced and she couldn't stop the idiotic smile that materialized on her face. They stopped at another light and Puck turned to look into her eyes.

"There's something else," he hesitated. "Do you really wanna go back and live with your_ mom_?"

Quinn's smile evaporated as quickly as it appeared on her face. The light changed and Puck drove forward. "Look, I get that you need your mom, Quinn." Puck said, taking advantage of Quinn's silence, again. "I was the one who suggested you see her in the first place. But..." He looked at her briefly, gauging her reaction. "But you're better than them. Who's to say your dad won't come back and kick you out? Do you think your mom will welcome you with open arms, then? Your dad's a prick, Fabray. A prick! Did you know he tried to get with my _mom._" He glanced at her and kept talking. Her face was paler than usual as she absorbed his worries, realizing that they echoed her own. "I was all for you moving back in with them, but now that your dad's gone, I can't help but think your mom will let you down again."

Quinn wiped a tear as it rolled down her smooth cheek.

"I just..." There was a beat before Puck finished his thought. He clenched his jaw, deep in thought. "I just wanted you to know that my mom is ready to support us. You _and_ me. If they ever, for one second, think of throwing you out again," Puck's voice was rising as he thought of all the shit Quinn had to endure because of her parent's decision to remove her from their lives. They didn't desrve her. He took a deep breath, knowing that anger wouldn't help in this situation. "Please," he pleaded. "Just... call me. I'm here. I want to help. I want to be _the_ guy." He turned to face her again. "The guy you trust."

Wiping another tear, Quinn laughed.

"You're being dramatic." She managed to smile.

They pulled up to the Berry's driveway. Turning in their seats to face one another, neither saying a word. Puck studied her tear-stained face, looking deep into her eyes. He took her hand in his and spoke softly.

"I may be acting like Berry right now, but it's only 'cause..." he licked his lips nervously. "I wanna _be_ with you. I've managed to screw us up more times than I can count, but I'm ready, Quinn." She squeezed his hand, almost as though she knew what was coming and she was giving him some encouragement. "I love you," he said evenly, not hesitating one bit.

Quinn leaned forward, pressing her pink mouth against his lips, tasting her salty tears as their lips collided. She pulled back, resting her forehead against his, trying to catch her breath.

"I do trust you. Why else would I have agreed to see my parents?" She closed her eyes, committing the feel of his hand in her hair to memory. "But my mom and I need to work through our issues. I can't just... abandon her when my dad betrayed us both." She pulled back and Puck tucked an errant strand behind her ear.

"I get it," he nodded.

"But... I do want you there. With me." She smiled through her tears. "Through everything. I..." she avoided his stare. "I need you," she gasped.

Puck pulled her towards him, pressing his overzealous lips against her mouth. He stroked her bottom lip with his tongue and Quinn obliged, breathing in, as he breathed out. He pulled back, smiling at the girl who's hand now rest on his chest. He put his hand over hers, stroking her knuckles softly.

"I knew you'd come around," he said into her lips and he felt her smile against his mouth.

"Shut up," she laughed, nipping at his lip playfully.

* * *

Noah Puckerman knew exactly what was wrong with the scene in front of him. He gaped in confusion as women practiced their breathing, holding their partner's hand for support. He sat among the throng of men and women, a blond beauty clutching his own hand for support. A look of ease and complete trust etched on her porcelain face as she turned to smile at him.

It was a sight to behold: McKinley's resident player holding the hand of McKinley's fallen angel. Puck turned to look at Quinn, his mouth curved into a playful smile. It seemed as though Quinn finally understood that the key to Lamaze was to relax. She stopped her rhythmic breathing to take his free hand and place it on top of her abdomen. Puck's eyes grew as he felt the gentle kicking. His smile grew and he nuzzled his nose into Quinn's neck, relishing the feeling of her body against his.

Sure, they were a dysfunctional family, but they were a family. He knew that his little girl was going to be adopted, but that didn't stop him, or Quinn for that matter, from loving her with all of their might. She was theirs and together, they were family.


	10. Epilogue

_**A/N:**_ Thank you so so much to everyone who read this! You're all wonderful!

I really hope you like this epilogue. Tell me if you don't! I can take it...!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I merely used Ryan Murphy's amazing characters to get me out of my writer's block.

* * *

It had been one month since Puck and Quinn made their relationship official. Even then, they found that "playing nice" wasn't any easier now that they were dating.

It was Saturday morning and Puck was over at the Fabray house. Mr Berry had asked them to compile a list of qualities they wanted their daughter's adoptive parents to have, so he and Quinn were trying to come up with a list. So far, they hadn't achieved much.

They had started out with the intent to get the list written out, but somewhere along the way, they got very sidetracked.

They had been sitting on Quinn's bed, a pen in each of their hands, when Puck's hands (and mouth and tongue and legs) got bored. Quinn resisted at first, but when he laced his fingers in hers, the feel of his rough, calloused hands in hers heightening her senses, she relaxed into his kiss. Puck leaned his body against hers, forcing her to lie down on her bed, the list completely forgotten.

Quinn sighed, as Puck's tongue made its way down her neck, his hand snaking underneath her shirt to cup one of her breasts. She inhaled, pushing him off of her, but not succeeding.

"Puck, Puck, Puck," she said quickly. Puck buried his face in her shoulder, defeated.

"What, what, what," came his muffled reply. He lifted his head, meeting her eyes.

She looked at his offending hand inside her shirt, raising an eyebrow. Puck rolled his eyes and withdrew it. He sat up and she tried to do the same. Seeing that her ever-expanding belly was making it harder for her to do so, he put his hand on her back to support her, ignoring her complaints that she could do it on her own. _Sure you can, Fabray._

Quinn was due in a month and they still hadn't decided what they were going to do with their daughter. Sure, they'd met with Mr Berry on more than one occasion, but actually making the decision and contacting adoption centres was another story. Neither of them was willing to admit that the real reason they kept stalling was because they didn't want to give her up. It was so easy to pretend that they were going to keep her, to be a family, when it was just the two of them. Inside of their bubble, they could ignore the fact that they weren't going to keep their daughter. But a month had passed and they had a decision to make.

Adding to this problem, Puck and Quinn had been… friskier than usual. They could spend hours in Quinn's bedroom, kissing and petting and licking. But when things started getting too out of hand, Quinn would put a stop to it.

It's not that she didn't want to have sex, it was all she thought of when she lay in her bed late at night, but she was walking, talking proof that sex had consequences. She knew she wouldn't get pregnant again if she gave in to Puck's advances. Still, she wondered what consequences would arise from having sex with Puck, again. Just the thought of it made her shiver.

"You cold, baby?" Puck asked, grabbing the blanket from the foot of her bed to drape over her shoulders. He pulled her to his side and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her shoulder, the friction creating heat.

"What kind of parents do you want for her?" she asked quietly, slightly scared that their daughter would remember this particular conversation five years down the road and would know, instinctively, that her birth parents didn't want her. Quinn knew all too well what it felt like to be unwanted, unloved, and she didn't want her daughter to ever know that feeling.

Puck took a deep breath, knowing that no amount of kissing would sidetrack them today. Quinn had been on his case for weeks now, trying to get his help to write this goddamn list. It's not that Puck didn't want to be involved in the heavy decision-making. Believe it or not he liked shopping for maternity clothes, liked going in to the doctor's visits and even liked going Lamaze. But _this_ decision was too much for him.

"Well," he pursed his lips, contemplatively. If he was going to help Quinn out, he might as well do a good job, right? _Right._ "I'd really like it if they were Jews. _Rich _Jews. Rich Jews with a shit-tonne of money. They own a house in the Caribbean and are sick guitar players." He smiled down at Quinn expecting to see her smile up at him proudly.

Instead, she glared at him.

"What?"

She pushed the blanket off of her shoulders and turned to look at Puck.

"What do you mean 'what'?" She scoffed. "This is serious, Puck."

"And I was being serious, Fabray," he answered, smirking. Quinn let out an exasperated breath, rubbing her hands on her face.

Taking her hands in his, Puck forced her to look at him.

"Babe, I'm just happy you're asking me to help."

Quinn smiled up at him, her smile wavering as she felt a hard kick. She winced and Puck smiled affectionately at her belly.

"Shit! She's a fighter! That's my girl! Show her who's boss!"

At first, Puck had startled whenever their daughter kicked Quinn a bit too hard, but the occurrence happened so often, that he no longer worried. In fact, he now found it amusing if she kicked harder than usual, since it showed that his little girl had a bit of his fire. _No kid will tell her what to do, that's for sure_.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Typical. Of course you would think that the fact she uses me as a punching bag is cute," she glared at the boy beside her.

"Hell yeah. She's a Puckerman," he retorted, a hint of pride in his voice.

Quinn shook her head, smiling at him. Biting her lip, she reached out her hand to stroke his mohawk affectionately.

"We're doing the right thing," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Puck only understood her because his eyes were fixed on her pink lips, readying himself for another round of kissing.

But Quinn's words were enough to quell any sexy thoughts he had.

He smiled softly, pulling her a bit tighter against his side.

"Yeah. We are."

"Then why do we pretend?" She asked, licking her lips slowly, deliberately, before worrying her bottom lip.

"It's easier to pretend now."

"I know, but we're only making it harder. You know we can't keep her. I know we can't keep her, but all we do is pretend." Quinn's eyes were still dry, but Puck knew, from the slight quivering of her bottom lip and the way she kept blinking, that she was trying to stop the tears from falling. He leaned against the headboard, pulling her along with him. He smoothed her blond hair and she snuggled deeper into his body, breathing him in.

"Does it suck that we're giving her up? Yes. Do I want to keep her? Yes. But the choice has always been yours." He stopped, mentally preparing himself. "Look, Quinn, if you're getting cold feet about this whole adoption thing, then we can talk to Berry's dad. Tell him we're not interested anymore." He stopped waiting for her reaction. "You know I'm all for whatever you decide, but both of our moms have said that they're willing to help us out. I mean, I know it'll be tough, but I'm game if you are."

Quinn took a deep breath, shaking her head. _I can't get my hopes up_.

"I want her parents to be good Christians," she said, as though Puck had never spoken. Puck smiled, reaching to touch the gold cross hanging around her neck. "Not just Christians, but Christians who will teach her good Christian values and morals." She looked up at him, studying the tender expression on his face as he stared back at her. He loved her. She knew it.

Smiling, she shook her head again.

"Scratch that." She sat up and Puck raised an eyebrow. "I just want two people who will love her."

"And have a lot of money, right?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "No, they don't need to be _rich_, Puck. That's not important."

"Says the girl who drives a brand new Civic to school."

"What does that have to do with the baby?"

"You grew up with money, Fabray. You know how much easier life is." He arched an eybebrow.

Quinn glared at him. _The. Nerve!_ Gritting her pretty, white teeth, she said, "How. Dare. You? Honestly, Puck, that has nothing to do with what I want for our kid. I want her to be happy. To have a stable home life. For her to make friends and, I dunno, do the things she wants to because she wants to do them." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"You know you love me." Puck said, stroking her arm with his right forefinger. He watched as his touch left a trail of goosebumps.

"I've never said as much," she said glaring at him.

"Baby, you don't need to say it. Your actions speak louder," Puck said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Quinn laughed, unable to keep a straight face any longer. She let Puck pull her into another searing kiss, weaving her fingers in his once more.

She pulled back and looked into his hazel eyes. It was easy to pretend, but the reality was so much better.

"I love you."

He smiled softly, as he tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. He pulled her in again for another kiss.

"Me too," he said into her mouth.

He sucked on her bottom lip, making her purr. Smiling into her mouth, he said, "But the kid's parents better be loaded."

Quinn shoved him off the bed, laughing when she heard him curse.


End file.
